Australians have much to be proud of when it comes to their economy.

In June, the country broke the developed world's record for the longest run of uninterrupted growth.

Yet Australia is not where it used to be, nor where it could be.

The "Fourth Industrial Revolution" is here, and set to shake up Australia: how we respond will shape our chances in tomorrow's economy.

Where are we now?

According to IMF analysis, Australia's average growth is almost a full percentage point lower per year than before the global financial crisis; growth in non-mining sectors is weak despite declines in real interest rates; and wage growth has been disappointing.

The IMF calls this combination "symptoms of the new mediocre".

In this light, Australia's consistent run of growth could be seen as fortuitous complacency rather than genuine dynamism.

Perhaps it's worth remembering that the phrase "the lucky country" was coined by Donald Horne in 1964 as a kick in the pants to a parochial, regionally-disconnected country relying too heavily on natural resources to support its quality of life.

Even after decades of global technological growth, according to the Atlas of Economic Complexity, roughly 80 per cent of Australia's physical exports by value in 2016 were minerals, metals, stone, foodstuff and wood.

It might be time to again ask, as Horne did, "have the conditions that led to so much success also weakened our adaptability and slowed down our survival reflex?"

What's coming?

The question is apt, because we are currently watching a range of extraordinary new technologies emerge.

Technologies like artificial intelligence, distributed ledgers, additive manufacturing (and many more) herald a range of radical transformations which won't just affect how we do business.

They are also challenging our identities and institutions, radically altering how we relate to one another and even raising the question of what it means to be human.

Digital, biological and physical technologies are converging, bringing social, economic and political change. At the World Economic Forum, we call this the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

It represents a huge opportunity for Australia, one that can make use of the country's best asset — a highly-educated population.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is not about simply promoting innovation writ large, nor espousing the benefits of digital technology, though both are important.

Around the world, entrepreneurs and organisations are building entirely new systems to create, exchange and distribute value.

There's opportunity to build on digital capabilities and to innovate in ways that help Australians not only adapt to a new world, but shape it.

Why change?

But to what end would we latch on to this opportunity? Faster growth is certainly one outcome. Research by NESTA for the UK found correlation between innovation and growth rates in companies. And, while data is scarce, McKinsey reports that adopting recent artificial intelligence approaches such as deep learning leads to higher growth rates, at least for companies fully committed to them.

The prize is large. A recent report from AlphaBeta estimated Australia could earn more than $2 trillion by 2030 if it doubles investments in automation technologies, such as artificial intelligence and robotics.

While such a transition will require supporting millions of workers whose jobs will change, failure to adapt to global trends in automation will result in a less competitive industry and shift stress onto other areas of the economy.

But growth rates are a means, not an end. The GDP numbers reported quarterly by the Reserve Bank are, after all, just a way of keeping score.

For Australians to feel that new technologies, new business models and new labour market structures are truly beneficial, they should improve people's lives in meaningful ways.

So what should Australians do to keep the luck running?

Collaboration is key

First, we need to collaborate better and more often—both across firms and across sectors.

Australia's Industry Monitor 2016 reports that the level of collaboration among Australian companies is well below the OECD average: the number collaborating with universities and other non-commercial research organisations is among the lowest in the OECD.

Meanwhile, trust levels across sectors are low: only 40 per cent of the general public trust Australian institutions according to the Edelman 2017 Barometer, and only 26 per cent of Australians find CEOs to be credible—a drop of 13 percentage points since 2016.

Conversely, Australia's growing biotech sector is a case study that has all the elements for success — highly skilled labour, collaboration with research institutions, robust entrepreneurship, government support, and industry partnerships.

Working together across stakeholder groups can be a huge boon for innovation, which often requires seeking out alternative sets of knowledge.

Innovation emerges from new perspectives to familiar objects and problems.

AusBiotech's Industry Position Survey 2017 highlights that this last year was the strongest on record with more than 77 per cent of companies expecting to grow. From investors to policymakers, collaboration in the biotech sector shows that Australia has the right ingredients to make the most of the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Lose the fear

Second, we need to accelerate both the development and adoption of new technologies across Australian firms, non-profit organisations and the public sector.

One challenge is cutting through both the hype and fear around emerging technologies, and demystifying topics like "artificial intelligence" to encourage more Australians to have a go and put them to use to solve local challenges.

Having a go means investing in people: not just future generations, but today's workforce, and ourselves.

Australian entrepreneur Jeremy Howard has shown with his non-profit training programme fast.ai, deep learning approaches are accessible to anyone with a little coding experience and access to low-cost cloud computing services.

Atlassian's Mike Cannon-Brookes has called out the need for more resources in technology training, specifically software engineering, and highlighted the challenge of needing to import almost half of the senior positions in a technology-driven company because of a lack of local expertise.

Shape our direction

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we need a deep and engaging public conversation about what we want from the new technology age.

We are lucky to live at the beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution — offering the opportunity to shape our future relationship with technology to be a more inclusive, fair and sustainable future.

But this opportunity must be grasped by people, and requires thinking deeply and discussing broadly what matters most for cultivating a flourishing society and charting a new course for prosperity.

We owe it to ourselves to make sure that the Fourth Industrial Revolution not only generates a dynamic economy, but also serves the public interest.

And, as George Megalogenis alluded to in his Quarterly Essay last eyar, we can't afford to panic at the prospect of describing our shared future.

Here, we can turn again to what Horne saw as the virtues of the Australian public. In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, perhaps even more so than in the 1960s, we should build on the good qualities of Australians: their tolerance, their sense of fair play, their adaptability, scepticism, courage and talent for improvisation.

It's good to be lucky. In turbulent times, making our own luck is even better.

Nicholas Davis is head of society and innovation and Thomas Philbeck is head of science and technology studies at the World Economic Forum.