An information technology expert has urged internet users to exercise absolute vigilance in their usage of digital platforms in the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) era. Professor Ulrike Rivett, Director of the School of IT at the University of Cape Town (UCT), said even though the 4IR has ushered in many business opportunities, some innovations have also eroded user privacy in ways that many are not even aware of.
Professor Rivett raised this flag when speaking at the recent EDHE Lekgotla 2020. The theme of the 2020 conference was #African entrepreneurship through Technology. She was heard by a 1221-strong audience comprising students and academics from South Africa’s 26 public universities and many others from the African continent and further afield. She spoke on 4IR – where to from here? — on Day 4 of the Lekgotla. This was during a session that was dedicated to the Community of Practice (CoP) on Student Entrepreneurship.