The future is now: The Fifth Industrial Revolution has reached the biomedical and health sciences

Resumen

To the Editor: It is frequent to hear in academic circles and the media that we would go through a Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). This 4IR comprises intelligent factories, where production systems, components and people communicate through a network, and manufacturing is almost independent1. However, the world is changing dizzyingly fast between one revolution and another. Global socioeconomic tensions, armed conflicts, scientific advances, the challenge of climate change and, especially, the recent COVID-19 pandemic2 are catalysts for a rapid transition from the Fourth Industrial Revolution to the Fifth Industrial Revolution (i.e., jump from 4IR to 5IR or Society 5.0). This revolution implies that humans and machines interact and discover ways of working together to improve resources and production efficiency1, a collaboration involving a significant component of artificial intelligence (AI). This Letter to the Editor highlights how this Fifth Industrial Revolution impacts the various fields of health sciences, biomedical engineering and healthcare. Read more...