Society 5.0, created by the Japanese Government, is the next evolution after the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0. Below is a nice graphic explaining the stages of development along the road to Society 5.0.
“Japan is committed to achieving sustainable growth and becoming a pioneer in establishing a new social model. We call this Society 5.0, Japan’s vision for the next step in human evolution.”
So what is Society 5.0?
Society 5.0 first gained widespread coverage at the CeBIT 2017 computer fair in Hannover, Germany, when Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe outlined the Society 5.0 vision.
Society 5.0 is a super-smart society that leverages technology to achieve economic advancement and solve people’s problems. This involves recognising that there is a limit to what people can do and that humans can live better lives by benefiting from the latest technological tools.
This is all about how to resolve social challenges by incorporating the innovations of the fourth industrial revolution (e.g. IoT, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), robot, and the sharing economy) into every industry and aspect of social life.
By doing this the society of the future will be one focused on adding value and continuously evolving, to make people’s lives more comfortable and sustainable.
Below is a short video about Society 5.0 produced by the Government of Japan.
This is an inspiring vision that the Government of Japan has presented, and I hope that New Zealand can also focus more on technology to help to solve some of the challenges of our ongoing growth.
I have made this submission about Society 5.0 to the New Zealand Productivity Commission. We can all live in hope that our Government in NZ can also focus on how technology can indeed transform lives and enhance prosperity and growth.