The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution South Africa (C4IR South Africa) was announced in April 2019 by the Minister of Science and Innovation with the aim of driving the adoption and responsible deployment of emerging technologies in South Africa.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) presents significant opportunities for South Africa. South Africa has the potential to become a leader in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), quantum computing, advanced materials, smart manufacturing and advanced energies. 4IR technologies also have the potential to improve various production and social sectors in South Africa, such by increasing efficiency and accessibility.
However exponential and disruptive nature of 4IR technologies demand upstream and long-term decision making to ensure they are governed in a way that maximises societal benefit whilst minimising potential misuse or harm. Through its work, the centre aims to facilitate the development of responsible policies and practices that will help South Africa to realise the full potential of the 4IR. It therefore serves as a:
1
Space for Global Cooperation in Science and Technology: It draws on capabilities, insights and best practices in the C4IR Network to inform its projects to build national capacity in technology governance.
2
“Do-tank”: Partner governments and companies will co-design and pilot these protocols and frameworks for rapid iteration and scale. The Centre is not a think-tank, but rather a “do-tank”.
3
Champion for ethics and values in technology: All developed at the Centre will prioritise human-centricity, fair governance and inclusive innovation.
Vision
To be the indispensable hub for public-private cooperation for shaping ways of harnessing technology for societal progress.
Mission
To co-design, test and refine governance protocols and policy frameworks to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks of advanced science and technology.
Values
Human Centricity
Maximising the impact of new technology to improve the quality of life for individuals across the world, and influencing industries to preserve our world for future generations.
Enabling Innovation
Helping the private and public sectors to identify technology related issues and enablers and advancing policy, governance and business models that are agile, flexible and impactful.
Equity and Inclusion
Taking proactive steps to ensure technology adoption does not heighten wealth disparities, abuse of power, and exclusion by establishing an equitable enabling environment thus amplifying innovation to ensure technology is available to all.
Focus Areas
To accelerate impact and drive change, the C4IR South Africa brings together government entities, business organisations, civil society and academia, and leverages expertise in the C4IR global networks from around the world to work together, initially across four interrelated technology areas in multiple sectors, namely:
The fourth industrial revolution has already had a profound impact on global trade, economic growth and social progress. On one hand, the ability of data to move across borders underpins new business models, boosting the global gross domestic product by 10% in the last decade alone. However, digital trade barriers, including outdated regulations, fragmented governance and strict data localisation policies could potentially hamper these gains.
As data is increasingly generated and collected globally, businesses require clearer and more practical data governance protocols, such as embracing open data – particularly the releasing of public data for use by entrepreneurs; developing infrastructure and skills to enable South Africa to be a hub of data economy in Africa and globally; creating a conducive environment for investment, i.e. ease of doing business in data economy and policy certainty; creating a capable state that deals decisively with addressing ills such as crime and corruption, as well as inequality and transformation; and creating a social compact to develop and co-create policy. At the same time, policymakers need better tools to develop future-oriented and agile frameworks for data regulation that will allow for innovation, but protect individual privacy; promote inclusion; securing data against cybercriminals; and enable data sharing in public service.
The Data Policy portfolio focuses on maximising the humanitarian and beneficial uses of data, while seeking to develop practical solutions using a multi-stakeholder approach to policymaking. Data Policy is a cross-cutting portfolio; therefore the governance protocols that can be put in place in this platform may have an impact on the other three platforms, namely the Internet of Things (IoT), which generates data; artificial intelligence (AI), which learns from data; and blockchain, which is a mechanism used to reliably capture a data transaction history in a distributed manner.
The projects being explored at the C4IR South Africa is the “Reimagining and Reinventing Open Data Policy within Local Government Environment Project”.
Projects in the C4IR global network include a Data Policy toolkit; general data protection regulation for the fourth industrial revolution; cross border data flows and re-imagining consent and trustworthy data for the common good.
There are more connected devices in the world today than humans. It is projected that by 2025 they will exceed 40 billion. As IoT technologies continue to spread across all aspects of day-to-day life, and even become embedded in the human body, questions regarding data ownership, cybersecurity, accuracy and privacy protection take on newfound urgency and importance. Similarly, in an interconnected world where electric grids, public infrastructure, vehicles, homes and workplaces can be accessed and controlled remotely, the vulnerability to cyberattacks and the potential for these security breaches to cause serious harm are unprecedented.
Infrastructure deployments to support IoT are driven mainly by large industry players, leading to economic benefits from data generated by IoT, but enjoyed mostly by large industry players. Promotion of the use of IoT by small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in several industries is a high priority in South Africa and in many emerging economies.
Projects being explored at the C4IR South include the promotion of IoT use by SMMEs in the modernisation of the manufacturing sector and scaling the adoption of industrial IoT by SMMEs in manufacturing.
Blockchain, an early stage technology that enables the decentralised and secure storage and transfer of information, has the potential to be a powerful tool for tracking transactions that can minimise friction, reduce corruption, increase trust and empower users. Cryptocurrencies built on DLTs have emerged as potential gateways to new wealth creation and disrupters across financial markets. Other revolutionary use cases are being explored in almost every sector, ranging from energy to shipping to media. By taking a systemic and inclusive approach to this technology, it is possible to ensure that everyone – from the most marginalised members of society to the most powerful – benefits from its transformative potential.
Projects being explored at the C4IR South Africa include digital identity and Green Energy certification.
AI is the software engine that drives the fourth industrial revolution. Its impact can already be seen in homes, businesses and political processes. It holds the promise of solving some of the most pressing issues facing society, but also presents challenges such as inscrutable “black box” algorithms, unethical use of data and potential job displacement. ML is the subfield of AI that focuses on giving computer systems the ability to learn from data. As rapid advances in ML increase, the scope and scale of AI’s deployment across all aspects of daily life, and as the technology itself can learn and change on its own. Multi-stakeholder collaboration is required to optimise accountability, transparency, privacy and impartiality to create trust. The AI/ML portfolio aims to support the development of policy frameworks and governance protocols to accelerate the societal benefits and mitigate the risks of AI and, in particular, ML.
Project being explored at the C4IR South Africa is the “Artificial Intelligence Maturity Assessment Framework”.
Current Partners
Founding Partners
An initiative of the Department of Science and Innovation, managed and hosted by the CSIR and affiliated to the World Economic Forum.
C4ir Project Partners
Contact us
Address
Meiring Naudé Road Brummeria Pretoria South Africa