Around the Physical-Digital-Physical Loop: A look into Industry 4.0s capabilities

Industry 4.0: the integration of digital information from many different sources and locations to drive the physical act of doing business, in an ongoing cycle.

Companies have been able to clearly transfer their physical data into digital but few are able to act on the data they’ve been given to improve their company, which is why Industry 4.0 is not in full effect

First thought is using social media- the physical act of looking at phone, liking, skipping → they collect my data and then → feed me more content that makes me spend longer on their app

As a student, while it is important to be able to have the strict skills of being able to analyze and visualize data, it is also important to build the critical thinking skills that allow me to make a decision based on what the data is telling me.

As a consumer, I rarely notice when a company does not close the Physical→Digital→Physical loop; however, it is extremely clear that social media platforms such as Instagram and Tik Tok do. These social media apps capture my attention and collect the data on my physical reactions to the content they show me. When I like, comment, rewatch, skip, or repost content, the app records how I reacted (and for how long), then send it back to the algorithm to refine my feed to lead to further engagement on the app. By constantly updating my preferences using the data collected, social media apps are able to capture my, and many others’ attention for longer, yielding higher profits. From my consumer standpoint, social media seems to be the field that is able to complete the loop almost seamlessly as their algorithm also helps them make the nearly immediate decision on how to adjust their viewers’ experiences.

I found it interesting that in today’s technologically advanced world businesses where over half of businesses collect data from an Internet of Things, that professionals struggle to use that data to make changes to their businesses. As a student, Deloitte Consulting’s review of Industry 4.0 reminded me that while it is important to have the hard skills of being able to analyze and visualize data (being a Excel wizard), it is just as important, if not more, to develop the critical thinking skills that allow me to make a business decision based on the data. That skill is even more critical now as companies struggle to complete the loop.