Yes, the tech revolution poses threats to SA — but it also has great potential for good

Raise the topic of the fourth industrial revolution in most policy circles and the typical response is to dwell on the threats it poses to SA. The threat to jobs from robotics, artificial intelligence and digitalisation, or the threat of global monopolies due to “winner takes all” tippy digital markets. Indeed, the debates in competition law circles globally are dominated by how best to deal with the economic power of the FAAGs (Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google).