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UK.

Hello and welcome to a special issue of the spectators podcast, sponsored by King and Wood

Mallison.

The Davos Summit is now over, and we're here to discuss the theme it raised, the fourth

industrial revolution, where the machines are going to take over the economy.

And with me to discuss it are Ed Conway, the Economics Editor of Sky News, Simon Collins, the UK chairman of KPMG,

and Stefan Kruger, partner at King and Wood Mallison. So I'd like to start by asking you,

Simon, to explain what is meant by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Is it a theme that we can

take seriously? I think we have to take it seriously. The way I try and make sense of it is to look at three different things.

The changing demographics of the world, so big population explosion, emerging middle class, lots more consumers.

That's meeting two other things.

First of all, this massive technological development, automation, digitization of everything.

And thirdly, the millennial generation

and what they're looking for in the workplace. And when you put all those things together,

we've got a revolution in a potential demand for goods and services, revolution in the way

they're supplied, and a social revolution as well, the way the workplace works. Sounds fantastic.

Well, it means we have to take it seriously. Yeah, I'm sure, but are there does necessarily mean there's a problem? I mean, they're

exploiting middle class, lots of wealthy people, millennials, better educated, but never before. Technology

means we've got lots of gadgets to improve our lives. So is there anything we should worry about?

I think it depends whether you see the fourth industrial revolution as something that runs you over as a person or something that people can actually control and use for the

benefit of society.

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