Emotional Intelligence, The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) & Technical Assimilation

As we develop through interesting economical, political and financial times, we continuously see major shifts in the behaviour of human-kind. With ever changing shifts in consciousness, newly developed beliefs, systems and the continuous cycle of newer, faster and better, it is becoming a fast paced world ever more so now, than ever before.

With old systems being replaced with new, entrepreneurs creating and innovating and a human shift in new ideas and concepts; these are the fundamental reasons the world continues to change at such an exponential rate.

With all of this being said and in light of my own experiences and observations, I am of the belief that this shift is moving towards a world inclusive of Emotional Intelligence and Technical Assimilation introduced with the 4th Industrial Revolution.

In relation to Emotional Intelligence, “Many experts now believe that a persons emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) may be more important than their intelligence quotient (IQ) and is certainly a better predictor of success, quality of relationships, meaningful conversations and overall happiness.” (Ibem, 2019)

From my observations, the lack of EQ in a professional environment seems to reflect negatively on productivity as well as compassion between people. Ironically, the lack of EQ does not only effect the professional environment, but also the social environment. People are looking for connections beyond tasks or obligations as they lack “fulfilment” and crave human empathy.

The ability to “be human” is so profound in a world filled with “robots”.

“Recent changes in business and the wider world have caused a seismic shift in how people view emotion and appreciate its power when used intelligently.” (Ibem, 2019)

This linked with the 4th Industrial Revolution, represents a fundamental change in the way we live, work and relate to one another. It is progression in human development, enabled by extraordinary technological advances such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics. “These advances are merging the physical, digital and biological worlds in ways that create both huge promise and potential peril.” (World Economic Forum, 2019)

Technical assimilation refers to the process within organisations stretching from initial awareness of innovation, to potentially, formal adoption and full-scale development.

With the rapid developments in technology such as autonomous vehicles, virtual and augmented reality, space travel, nanotechnology, 3D printing, quantum computing and blockchain, to name a few; it is imperative that businesses are ready for the increasing assimilation of such technologies. Adoption of technology is imperative with the speed in which developments in these technical discoveries are taking place.

These advancements are moving towards a co-human, co-robotic world.

Also, in light of watching a recent movie ‘Ex-Machina’ which is a 2014 British science fiction film, written and directed by Alex Garland. A young coder is invited to a remote property in the mountains where the CEO of the company he works at has asked him to take part in a week of tests where he will interact with a life-like robot which has been developed with advanced emotional intelligence. With the integration of deep learning, “Ava” the robot, learns to understand and manipulate her subjects thinking and understanding of his own environment, creating an interesting twist.

The story unfolds and we are lost between good and evil as a battle between man and machine unravel in an emotionally, psychologically driven way.

Without any spoilers; the movie ends in a grand finale of deceit and betrayal where everything we thought was possible, is shattered. The movie left me bewildered and uncertain about a co-thriving space between man and machine and whether robots will really have the potential to develop emotional intelligence.

For the most part, it would be unsurprising to see technology develop beyond any form of human understanding as artificial intelligence continues to unlearn and relearn. The irony of the now is that most people believe that robots are still coming, yet, do not realise that some versions of these robots co-exist with us today.

To some degree, our smartphones are robotic, being able to measure nearly every detail and data point about us and our behaviour as well as smart speakers such as Alexa and Amazon Echo, which are drawing information from our day-to-day lives, deriving data from our conversations and interactions.

It goes without saying that the future is exciting, depending on your point of view.

With the collaboration of technological advancement and further interactions involving emotional intelligence, together, they will drive us into a very interesting future.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is about more than just technology-driven change; it is an opportunity to help everyone, including leaders, policy-makers and people from all income groups and nations, to harness converging technologies in order to create an inclusive, human-centred future. The real opportunity is to look beyond technology, and find ways to give the greatest number of people the ability to positively impact their families, organisations and communities.” (World Economic Forum, 2019)

For now, lets go back to EI.

For a sense of clarity, emotional intelligence is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. This, mixed with logic and the intelligence quotient, which is a number representing a person’s reasoning ability (measured using problem-solving tests) as compared to the statistical norm or average for their age, taken as 100, will drive human-kind into a harmonious succession with mindfulness and understanding.

As someone who has developed a deep relationship with the emotional side of his spirit, I am fascinated each and every day when interacting with people who have not seemed to develop their emotional intelligence and wonder what a world would be if EI did not exist. From work to study, social to home, there always seems to be a lack of empathy and understanding, wherever I travel.

From my observations, it seems that people are too rigid in their thinking and beliefs to let go of their ego and get in touch with their emotions and lack the ability to interact with other people holistically.

Nevertheless, the future is exciting and I think we will all eventually realize the power of being human.