Report 2020: Manufacturing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

It has been anticipated that Artificial intelligence will significantly revolutionise the manufacturing sector. According to a recent report by Tractica, the worldwide annual investments in AI software, hardware, and service of the manufacturing sector will increase from $2.9 billion in 2018 to $13.2 billion by 2025. The benefits will be profound as more organisations deem AI vital to obtaining or sustaining their competitive advantage. However, this transformation will bring forth relevant challenges, such as implications for workers and the need for quality data to fuel AI systems.
Furthermore, there are many ethical questions related to AI that must be addressed to foster sustainable adoption of AI.

Given the relevance of this issue to companies as well as the broader manufacturing community, the 2020 World Manufacturing Report focused on the transformation of the manufacturing sector in the age of AI.

The World Manufacturing Report Editorial Board, in collaboration with a high-level Advisory Board and experts from all over the world, developed a whitepaper. This document analysed the state of AI State Play, a number of different Applications of AI in manufacturing, the Impact of AI onHuman Capital, and the Ethical, Legal, Policy, and Societal Implications of AI. As in previous years, the Report outlined Ten Key-Recommendations for the manufacturing community.

These detailed a number of actions to implement in order to realise the positive contribution of AI in manufacturing. The Report was published during the 2020 World Manufacturing Forum. The event was held in Cernobbio, Italy, on 11 and 12 November.