Mangaluru: Graduates will have no choice but to engage with technology in their everyday work and personal lives. This is irrespective of whether one is a computer scientist, artist, historian, engineer, writer or poet.

One can maximize benefits of technology while minimizing its potential downsides only if we carefully balance technology and humanity, both at the individual and societal level, Subra Suresh, president, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, said.

Delivering the convocation address at the 36th annual convocation of Mangalore University after receiving an honorary doctorate degree from K Byrappa, vice-chancellor, Suresh said interaction of human beings with technology will determine whether the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 will lead to net positive or negative consequences. “We are in the very early stages of Industry 4.0 which is a convergence of physical, digital and biological words,” he said.

Disciplines that have catalyzed Industry 4.0 include AI, machine learning, real-time, massive and deep data analytics, robotics, internet of things, the blockchain, advanced additive manufacturing, autonomy and mobility.

Unlike previous industrial revolutions, Industry 4.0 is characterized by unprecedented pace of change in technology, the rate of advance of technology and real-time, global connectivity through mobile devices giving instant access to data and information.

Cautioning that Industry 4.0 like the three industrial revolutions could result in the elimination of many jobs that disrupted numerous lives and livelihoods, he said even though ended up creating more jobs than they destroyed, in some cases it took several decades.

The concern with the rapid pace of change if the rate of job destruction from technology moves faster than the rate of potential job creation, this could markedly increase the disparity between the haves and have-nots, Suresh said.

Dwelling on the purpose of education, Suresh said it prepares students for a lifetime of enquiry, inspires and challenges them as one prepares for their courses and instils in them, a passion for lifelong learning.

With the emergence of Indian in past several decades as a major economic power and with rapid societal transformations, there has never been a better time for university graduates to play a pivotal role in applying their educational skills for benefit of society, he said.