The Intergenerational Contract at Work in Industry 4.0

Asia has entered the age of Industry 4.0 with “smart” and connected production systems designed to sense, predict, and interact with the physical world. The rapid adoption of AI in various sectors and industries interrupts conventional contractual relationships as the World Economic Forum estimates 85 million traditional jobs will be replaced by robotics by 2025 and 97 million new roles may emerge. At the same time, the global pandemic has accelerated how we respond to the intergenerational contract at work as we face the transforming nature of jobs. One cannot help but wonder – what would the future of social security at work look like?

In this session, we will explore the nature of Industry 4.0 technologies (especially weakly-monitored algorithms) in business decisions, the future of employment in Asia as a power hub for the young workforce, and the principles to achieve equilibrium of the intergenerational contract at work in Asia as we embark on the Industrial 4.0 era.