Society 5.0, beyond Industry 4.0

Abstract

This article offers a contribution to the understanding, structure, and relationship of Society 5.0 with Industry 4.0, emphasizing the implications that these social phenomena have for Mexico. The paper examines multiple perspectives and aims to stimulate further inquirí and discussion, without prescribing specific solutions or recommendations. A qualitative documentary research of a critical and interpretive nature was carried out that reviewed the documents of the last five years regarding three focal themes: Society 5.0, Industry 4.0 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The findings indicate that Society 5.0 is a Japanese counterproposal to the global implementation of Industry 4.0 and the World Economic Forum’s Globalization 4.0 strategy. It aims to achieve technological hegemony through the implementation of cyber-physical systems and the alignment of its social purposes with those outlined in the SDGs by the UN. In the case of Mexico, the development strategy towards the 2030 Agenda does not contain elements of encounter with those delimited by Society 5.0, in addition to which COVID-19 has made the global and national context more uncertain and turbulent.