We live in a fascinating time. Self-driving cars, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, 3-D printers and service robots exists and are being perfected everyday. Smart technology is defining a new era, a Fourth Industrial Revolution. Smart machines and technologies are changing our expectations, our decisions and our world. As the caretakers of this wired landscape, there are two major areas of concern: the sustainability of the future and business ethics in the design and implementation of smart everything.

Sustainable business models will benefit from smart technology in the long run. However, new technologies have a steep up-front cost and not only in cash. Manufacturing large machines is still a coal driven process. Depending on the type of machines and their quality, they could replace existing manufacturing processes and allow us to conduct more ethical business. To operate advanced sustainable businesses we have to weigh the good verses the bad. We must stay focused on renewable energy, high quality technology and energy efficient machines; the recipe for sustainable business and society.

Another issue we face, even now, is the changing economic landscape. Jobs are being redefined and disappearing as computers take over simple tasks or automate parts of them. It’s important that we approach this era in a conscious way. Ethical businesses will gain prominence, but the reason behind that isn’t management making more ethical decisions. On the front-line, there will be fewer decisions to make. In the background, the design, manufacturing and human costs associated with smart machines is more relevant than ever. Conducting ethical business will shift from humans ensuring human rights to robotic and technological designs ensuring human rights.

For ethical businesses to become a reality revamped education is key. Employees will become managers of machines and managers will become machinists. The service industry is where thousands upon thousands of people find themselves in low skill jobs. The Fourth Industrial Revolution subconsciously aims to put those jobs on the chopping block. Despite how detrimental that sounds, it is the ethical decision. Many low skill jobs are dangerous or pay below living wage or both. With the right mindset and education, everyone will step up a rung on the income and status ladder.

It is an amazing time to be alive to witness the rise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In general, this should be a time of greater sustainability and ethical businesses. In the future, you’ll scan and pay for products all on your smart phone when you take a trip to the grocery store. You may not interact with a human being at all, but at the center of this new world are people making decisions that shape our reality.