We are living amid a technological revolution that is transforming the globe. Changes are visible in all aspects of our lives from transportation, health, and communications. As the adage states, yesterday's science fiction is today's science. We are now expanding our capabilities in every area of science, chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering. That includes heightened spae exploration, as well as building smart cities, new manufacturing hubs, and developing artificial intelligence and quantum technologies. The rapid pace of technological change is clearly visible, but much of what you may not see, the exceedingly small physical components of change called nanotechnologies, are catalyzing the revolution. While there are many nanotech uses, three areas of nanotech are paving the way to our future: Materials Science, Nanomedicine and Device Engineering.

AI is certainly the core technology leading the smart digital transformation of our 4Th Industrial Era. Computers with AI are designed for automation activities that include, speech recognition, learning, planning, and problem solving. These technologies can provide for more efficient decision making by prioritizing and acting on data, especially across larger networks with many users and variables. AI is a catalyst for driving fundamental changes in many industries such as customer service, marketing, online banking, healthcare, business accounting, public safety, retail, education, and public transport.

AI is certainly the core technology leading the smart digital transformation of our 4Th Industrial Era. Computers with AI are designed for automation activities that include, speech recognition, learning, planning, and problem solving. These technologies can provide for more efficient decision making by prioritizing and acting on data, especially across larger networks with many users and variables. AI is a catalyst for driving fundamental changes in many industries such as customer service, marketing, online banking, healthcare, business accounting, public safety, retail, education, and public transport.

Chuck Brooks, president of Brooks Consulting, globally recognized as a subject-matter expert on Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies, sees the coming proliferation of IoT devices as expanding the threat landscape. His experience helps to put it in perspective. In government, he has received two Presidential appointments, by George W. Bush to a legislative position at the Department of Homeland Security, and by Ronald Reagan as an assistant to the director of Voice of America. In industry, Chuck has served in executive roles for General Dynamics, Xerox, Rapiscan Systems, and SRA. Today, Chuck is on the Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown University's Graduate Applied Intelligence Program and the Graduate Cybersecurity Program, where he teaches courses on risk management, homeland security, and cybersecurity. He has an MA in International relations from the University of Chicago, a BA in Political Science from DePauw University, and a Certificate in International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law. He recently spent a few minutes with AI Trends Editor John P. Desmond to discuss the state of cybersecurity today.

This summer, the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center published a new bipartisan report of Commission on the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data (www.atlanticcouncil.org/geotechreport).

An amazing aspect of living in The Fourth Industrial Era is that we are at a new inflection point in bringing emerging technologies to life. We are in an era of scientific breakthroughs that will change the way of life as we currently know it. While there are many technological areas of fascination for me, the meshing of biology with machine is one of the most intriguing. I have highlighted two frontiers of "mind-bending" developments that are on the horizon, Neuromorphic technologies, and human-machine biology. Human computer interaction (HCI) was an area of research that started in the 1980s and has come a long way in a short period of time.

The process of systems integration (SI) functionally links together infrastructure, computing systems, and applications. SI can allow for economies of scale, streamlined manufacturing, and better efficiency and innovation through combined research and development. New to the systems integration toolbox are the emergence of transformative technologies and, especially, the growing capability to integrate functions due to exponential advances in computing, data analytics, and material science. These new capabilities are already having a significant impact on creating our future destinies. The systems integration process has served us well and will continue to do so.