State Secretary, Prof. Dr. Pratikno, M.Soc.Sc., has asked students to be smart learners to follow the fourth industrial revolution.
According to the minister, the fourth industrial revolution with digital era change has affected in 300 jobs that were lost. Even in Indonesia, it is estimated 12.5 percent of all existing jobs have been lost, replaced by machines. “The biggest to be impacted is the agricultural sector,” said Pratikno.
Despite the loss, Minister Pratikno said, currently several new jobs had been created. “Besides the disappearing jobs, there is also the creation of new jobs from the flourishing lifestyle industry,” he said.
Intermediary business, he said, has diminished due to the emergence of digital model that offers delivery services. The emergence of digital model has shifted conventional business model. “Retailers are diminishing, changed by new digital platforms,” he said.
Big data companies such as Facebook, Minister Pratikno said, became the world’s biggest social media without ever making contents. Alibaba became the largest retailer whilst not having goods and warehouses. “Even Gojek online transportation service in 2016 with the valuation of 17 trillion or bigger than Garuda’s does not have motorcycles and cars,” he said.
He added that the industrial revolution development was determined by capital owners as the the biggest holder of big data. Even the country does not have full authority of the data sources.
“Does this mean that the country has authority? The strongest is those that own data,” he said.
Pratikno pointed out an example of people that are now connected by applications. The company making the application will be able to know personal data of its users from across the world. “Starting from the morning when he wakes up, what he likes, all can be stored well through automatisation,” he said.
The source of such big data, he said, was the most strategic resource. With technological sophistication, the Minister said, all data can be processed by artificial intelligence technology. “I think it’s safe to say that we are all monitored by surveillance for data analysis,” he said.
Even so, he said, becoming a smart learner was the solution necessary to be done to address the automatisation system challenge. “Once again, we have to be a smart learner, having curiosity and spending more time to it,” he said.