site.btaAI Enables Us to Leapfrog Entire Industrial Revolution, BASSCOM Chair Says

Addressing a forum in Sofia Tech Park on the skills of tomorrow in connection with Bulgaria's bid for OECD membership, Dobroslav Dimitrov, Chairperson of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Association of Software Companies (BASSCOM), said that Industry 4.0 is old news, and the world is already in its fifth industrial revolution. "Artificial intelligence will enable us to leapfrog one entire industry and tap directly into the next. It's not a continuation of [Industry] 4.0, but a whole new challenge," Dimitrov noted.

The Chair of BASSCOM expects the global economy to turn around in a way it has never turned before. "Capitalism is turning upside down. Talent goes first. Money remains a distant second," Dimitrov said.

In his words, in order to be competitive with non-democratic regimes, one needs to raise the level of innovation even further. "Technologicality is the new literacy," Dimitrov stressed, adding that technological literacy will become second nature to every person, no matter what they do. He pointed out that, economically, Europe is now lagging behind the US, compared to just 20 years ago when it was the bigger power.

"In order to defend democracy, we need to realize what is happening with the economy, and the only remedy for what is happening with the economy is education," Dimitrov emphasized.