Fifteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Since the first industrial revolution, societies have entrusted their lives and wellbeing to the professions; social institutions that exercise control over the use of specific bodies of knowledge and who are granted privileges on the basis that the knowledge is used for the benefit of society. The fourth industrial revolution is starting to contest the role of the professions in society. Using the example of the quantity surveying profession, the aim of this paper is to highlight the threats and opportunities the fourth industrial revolution presents to professions and how this may impact on their relevance in society. The paper is based on a literature review. Using the quantity surveying profession as an example, the study evaluates how the technologies associated with the fourth industrial revolution such as artificial intelligence (Al), robotics, the internet of things, 3D-printing, blockchain, nanotechnology, etc. impact on the existing legitimacy and practices of the quantity surveying profession. The paper specifically focuses on the opportunities and threats posed by artificial intelligence (AI) on the quantity surveying profession in South Africa. AI is capable of performing professional tasks that were previously regarded as the purview of highly trained and educated professionals at a much higher quality and speed than humans. AI is regarded as an enhancer to humans in some quarters while in others it is regarded as a substitute for humans. What is unknown is the extent of the disruption AI is likely to cause within the professions.