Industry

Humans find it difficult to adapt to change and this is evident in how technological advances are viewed. This is nothing new because even Socrates, the architect of Western philosophy, wasn't too excited about the introduction of writing, as he felt people would become more forgetful.

It may be natural to fear change, but we have to realize that by nurturing this kind of fear, we are resisting innovations that could improve our quality of life, productivity and connectivity. 

The fear of technological change shows a lack of trust. As it stands, Americans don’t trust each other, our corporations or our public institutions. The absence of trust means a lot of damage has been done and the only way to fix this is to ensure everyone has the information that is essential to building trust back up.

Without white and yellow lines on streets and roads, we wouldn't know where the lanes are, or where to turn or stop or walk, etc. Car accidents would be much more frequent, many with fatalities.

A specialized sector of the construction industry paints lane markings on roads. One company in Michigan, PK Contracting, estimates that one worker paints about 400,000 ft (122,000 m) of lines every day. Over the 6-month construction season, the company stripes and re-stripes about 50,000 mi (80,500 km) of roads. Put those markings end-to-end and you could cross America 16 times.

We are now experiencing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), a period of rapid change driven by progress in science and technology. The main drivers of 4IR are AI, big data and the Internet of Things (IoT). Japan will play a leading role in global innovation with a new World Economic Forum (WEF) center devoted to maximizing the potential of the 4IR, says Klaus Schwab, WEF founder and executive chairman.

“Japan is not sufficiently recognized for its innovative capabilities,” Schwab said in a recent interview with Forbes Japan. “The world is speaking about what’s happening in Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, but it is not aware that Japan has created a very successful startup community.”

The Japanese government is urging steelmaker Kobe Steel to clarify the extent of manipulation of data on steel, aluminum and other metals used in a wide range of products, reportedly including rockets, aircraft and cars.

A government spokesman on Wednesday criticized the apparently widespread falsification of data as "inappropriate," saying it could undermine product safety.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kotaro Nogami told reporters that about 200 of Kobe Steel's customers were affected.

Kobe Steel, Japan's third-largest steel maker, announced Sunday that between Sept. 1, 2016 and Aug. 31 of this year it had sold aluminum and copper materials using falsified data on such things as the products' strength.

The company said the materials included aluminum flat-rolled products, aluminum extrusions, copper strips, copper tubes and aluminum castings and forgings.