HUMAN AGENCY IN THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: A Reflection on Adesanmi's TEDx Euston Talk

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the subject of an ongoing global epistemology discourse. It is characterised by cutting -edge technology, artificial intelligence, scientific discoveries, robotics and digital developments which are transforming our human existence at the same time as threatening our human agency. In his 2015 TEDx Euston talk, the late Professor Pius Adesanmi described the 4IR as devoid of human agency, the hallmark of African philosophy, and contended that 'Africa is the forward that the world needs to face' to humanise the post -humanist disposition of 4IR. This paper is a reflection on Professor Adesanmi's TEDx talk in the aftermath of his death in March 2019 in the Ethiopian Airlines crash. The aim is to examine media reports on Boeing's 737 MAX 8 to validate Adesanmi's claim and to reflect on how the African philosophy of Ubuntu - Togetherness and Human Agency - can be inculcated into the ongoing discourse of knowledge production brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.