Robotics and Artificial Intelligence till now have been used mainly for commercial work and yet to dominate defence sector in India. There is a huge potential in this segment and newly formed Task-Force on Artificial Intelligence by Indian government is a step towards economic transformation. Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is combination of technology and cognitive intelligence for simulation, processing of information and knowledge to build capability in a machine to imitate human behaviour. It is a transformative technology that has tremendous applications in the social, economic and military fields. Till some time back we had robots operated by a human or through a set of programming to perform repetitive task.

Indian government has constituted a task force on artificial intelligence (AI) to digitize big industries of the country. Task force comprises of experts, academics, researchers including state owned defense research institution DRDO and industry leaders. It will explore possibilities to leverage AI for development across various fields. "With rapid development in the fields of information technology and hardware, the world is about to witness a fourth industrial revolution. Driven by the power of big data, high computing capacity, artificial intelligence and analytics, Industry 4.0 aims to digitize the manufacturing sector," Nirmala Sitharaman, India's Minister of Commerce & Industry said.

Africa has registered impressive economic growth over the past decade and a half, displaying remarkable resilience in the midst of volatility and turmoil in global markets. Time is now ripe for the continent to turn the chapter and embark on a journey towards a major economic transformation. For this, Africa needs a new economic growth model powered by the strength of the real economy, entrepreneurship and innovation. A new report from Intellecap explores the critical role emerging technologies can play in helping Africa address its age-old development challenges and achieve exponential growth over the next decade. They researched and interviewed a range of emerging technology specialists from around the world and experts with deep experience on the social entrepreneurship and impact space in Africa.

Fab Labs are workspaces where people with common interests, often in computer science, machining and hardware development, science, and digital fields can meet, socialize, collaborate, innovate, and invent. "To prevent the concentration of value and power in just a few hands, we have to find ways to balance the benefits and risks of digital platforms (including industry platforms) by ensuring openness and opportunities for collaborative innovation," Schwab writes, regarding the possible economic ramifications of the 4ID. MENA countries also graduate fewer students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields annually, compared to other regions. Cofounders Ali Rajai (left) and Salman Oraibi (right) of Fab Lab Bahrain are co-designing hardware innovations.

Students at Lebanese American University (LAU) participate in a hardware design workshop that leverages the tools of the fourth Industrial Revolution. We are in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution in human history. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4ID) is an economic transformation a thousand-times wider and deeper than anything that has come before it. "The changes are so profound that, from the perspective of human history, there has never been a time of greater promise or potential peril," according to Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The 4ID is characterized by the confluence of next generation technologies like: quantum computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, autonomous transportation and robotics, the Internet of Things, additive manufacturing including 3D printing, biotechnology, and more generally; the merging of the digital and physical worlds.