The Fifth Industrial Revolution: Technology, Trust and the Next Social Contract

The fifth industrial revolution is less about new gadgets and more about whether we can rebuild trust and a fair social contract in a hyper-automated world.

Article link: https://open.substack.com/pub/johanosteyn/p/the-fifth-industrial-revolution-technology?r=73gqa&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Audio summary: https://youtu.be/BKTHcB7nMTM

I write about various issues of interest to me that I want to bring to the reader’s attention. While my main work is in Artificial Intelligence and technology, I also cover areas around politics, education, and the future of our children.

The phrase “fifth industrial revolution” has entered the global conversation with surprising speed. Some call it the Cognitive Age, others speak of Industry 5.0. Underneath the labels is a simple but uncomfortable question: what are we actually trying to achieve with our technologies?

The fourth industrial revolution was largely sold on efficiency, automation and scale. It gave us smart factories, digital platforms and algorithms that quietly govern our lives. Yet it also left us with deep mistrust, growing inequality and a planet under strain. The emerging idea of a fifth industrial revolution is an attempt to reset the terms of the deal: to ask whether AI, robotics and data can be reorganised around human dignity, social cohesion and ecological survival, rather than around cost-cutting alone.

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

Traditional accounts of industrial revolutions focus on breakthroughs: steam, electricity, computing, and the internet. The fourth industrial revolution added cyber-physical systems, cloud computing and machine learning to this story. It blurred the boundaries between physical and digital, making it possible to monitor and optimise everything from a mine shaft in Rustenburg to a call centre in Sandton. For businesses, the logic was straightforward: automate what you can, digitise the rest, chase scale.

Recently, however, policymakers and scholars have started to talk about a fifth phase. Industry 5.0, especially in European thinking, is defined less by new technology and more by purpose. It retains the tools of 4IR but insists that industry must be human-centric, sustainable and resilient. That means placing worker well-being at the centre of production, treating environmental limits as real constraints, and designing systems that can survive shocks. For countries like South Africa, still struggling to implement even the basics of 4IR, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity.

INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS

At the heart of this shift is trust. People’s confidence in institutions, experts, and even one another has eroded in the digital age. When algorithms decide who gets a loan, who is shortlisted for a job or which news we see, the old social contract – the unwritten expectations between citizens, markets and the state – starts to fray. The fifth industrial revolution is, in many ways, a response to that breakdown. It suggests that advanced technologies will only remain politically and socially legitimate if they are seen to serve people first.

Human-centric design is the first pillar. Instead of treating workers as “resources” to be displaced, 5IR thinking asks how AI and automation can extend human capability. That might mean robots taking on dangerous work in a mine, while people focus on safety oversight and complex decision-making. It might mean AI copilots supporting teachers in overcrowded classrooms, rather than replacing them. The test is whether individuals retain agency, voice and meaningful work as systems become smarter.

The second pillar is sustainability and resilience. Data centres, crypto mining and global logistics networks consume vast amounts of energy and materials. In a fifth-industrial mindset, climate and resource pressures are not an afterthought; they shape which technologies we build and how we deploy them. The convergence of AI, new energy systems and advanced materials can support a low-carbon future, but only if regulation and investment actively push in that direction.

IMPLICATIONS

For policymakers, the implication is clear: regulation must move from chasing after technology to shaping it. Laws on AI, labour, competition and the environment will need to hard-wire human rights, worker protections and ecological limits into how systems are designed and rolled out. This is not about stifling innovation; it is about ensuring that innovation remains socially acceptable. Countries that get this right will not only protect their citizens; they will become more attractive destinations for responsible investment.

For business leaders, the fifth industrial revolution is a strategic choice. They can use AI and automation simply to squeeze more productivity from already strained workers, or they can redesign roles, training and incentives around genuine human–machine collaboration. The former route may boost short-term profits but will deepen mistrust and resistance. The latter requires more effort upfront, but it builds resilience, loyalty and a stronger licence to operate. In South Africa, where unemployment, skills gaps and social fractures are stark, this choice is particularly acute.

CLOSING TAKEAWAY

We will not wake up one morning to find that the fifth industrial revolution has “arrived”. Instead, we will recognise it in hindsight if we can honestly say that our factories, offices, schools and public services use powerful technologies to enhance human flourishing and protect the planet.

The real question is not whether AI, robotics or brain–computer interfaces will advance; they will. The question is whether we have the courage to update our social contract – through law, leadership and public dialogue – so that these tools deepen trust rather than erode it. That is a responsibility we owe not only to current workers and citizens, but to our children, who will inherit the systems we build today.

Author Bio: Johan Steyn is a prominent AI thought leader, speaker, and author with a deep understanding of artificial intelligence’s impact on business and society. He is passionate about ethical AI development and its role in shaping a better future. Find out more about Johan’s work at https://www.aiforbusiness.net