计算能力的加速、分配和应用，以及数据量的指数型增长，使科技取得了非凡的进步。
我们已经进入了第四次工业革命。
变化的步伐是惊人的，举足轻重的科技囊括种种，如人工智能、量子计算、无人机、自动驾驶汽车、虚拟现实、增强现实、3D打印，机器人和各种连接设备。
世界上90%的数据都是在过去的两年内产生的。
在过去的五年里，使用互联网的人数增长了83%。如今，全球近60%的人口已经联上了网，这其中近一半的人在使用社交媒体。
现在全世界有超过220亿的联网设备。到2030年，这个数字将达到500亿。
我们开始看到一个庞大的互联设备网络，从消费品到路灯和垃圾桶等基础设施。这些设备的联网采用才刚刚开始。
机器变得更快更好了。AlphaGo Zero是一个人工智能程序，它通过与自己对弈而掌握了围棋。
算法的使用正在以指数级的速度增长，目前90%的股票交易都是由算法创建的，而2017年以这一比例为75%。
机器人在构建方案方面做得越来越好，算法可以诊断疾病、撰写文章、管理资金，以及提供个性化学习。
我们正在以指数级的速度产生更多的数据，而这正是来自于数十亿的电话设备、数字平台和无数的传感器，
然而，随着科技在全球的广泛传播，公民和企业之间的不平等也在加剧。
此类科技也带来了重大的挑战:从网络安全和隐私，到日益加剧的不平等和工作自动化。由算法和人工智能驱动的技术存在偏见，如何对这种偏见导致的后果追责，此类问题刻不容缓。 变化如此之快，我们要理解正在发生的深刻变化，并确保科技能使个人、企业和社区都平等受益。
我们必须进一步理解生而为人的意义，才能做对如此举足轻重的科技，作出必要的回应，
References
CSIRO, (2019). Australian National Outlook 2019. Available at: https://www.csiro.au/en/Showcase/ANO
Desjardins, J. (2019). How much data is generated each day? (online) Visual Capitalist. Available at: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-much-data-is-generated-each-day/
Kemp, S. (2019). We are social. [Blog] The Global State of Digital in October 2019. Available at: https://wearesocial.com/au/blog/2019/10/the-global-state-of-digital-in-october-2019
Lechmere, J.(2016) 90% of Today’s Data Created in Two Years. MediaPost: Research Brief. Available at: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/291358/90-of-todays-data-created-in-two-years.html
Petrov, C. (2019) Big Data Statistics 2020. (online) techjury. Available at: https://techjury.net/stats-about/big-data-statistics/#gref
Schultz, J. (2019). How Much Data is Created on the Internet Each Day? [Blog] Micro Focus Blog. Available at: https://blog.microfocus.com/how-much-data-is-created-on-the-internet-each-day/
Statista Research Department. (2020). Number of internet of things (IoT) connected devices worldwide in 2018, 2025 and 2030. (online). Statistia. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/802690/worldwide-connected-devices-by-access-technology/
Briefing, (2019). The stockmarket is now run by computers, algorithms and passive managers. The Economist. Available at: https://www.economist.com/briefing/2019/10/05/the-stockmarket-is-now-run-by-computers-algorithms-and-passive-managers
Cisco, (2019). 2020 Global Networking Trends Report.
Columbus, Louis. (2018) 2018 Roundup of Internet of Things Forecasts and Market Estimates. Forbes Media. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2018/12/13/2018-roundup-of-internet-of-things-forecasts-and-market-estimates/#6ee790d77d83 OECD (2019) Ch 2, Digitalisation and productivity: A story of complementarities. In: OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2019 Issue 1. OECD iLibrary
Belani, G. (2019) Why DeepMind AlphaGo Zero is a game changer for AI research. Packt Publishing. Available at: https://hub.packtpub.com/deepmind-alphago-zero-game-changer-for-ai-research/
Silver, D. and Hassabis, D. (2017) AlphaGo Zero: Starting from scratch. (online) DeepMind. Available at: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/alphago-zero-starting-scratch
Marr, B. (2018) The 4th Industrial Revolution is Here – Are You Ready? Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/08/13/the-4th-industrial-revolution-is-here-are-you-ready/#299c032a628b
Schwab, K. (2015) The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond. Foreign Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations. Available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-12-12/fourth-industrial-revolution
Schwab, K. (2017) The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Penguin Random House
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