The Fourth Industrial Revolution

History’s three industrial revolutions emerged from technologies such as the steam engine, electricity and computers. The nascent Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing technology that will change “what it means to be human.” Through new combinations of “digital, physical and biological systems,” people’s bodies may become so high-tech that no one will be able to tell natural components from manufactured ones. Even today, consumers can buy simple devices that visualize their brain activity, granting them new levels of self-knowledge. Moreover, researchers have discovered a scientific basis for how mindfulness affects the brain, genes and...