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industry 4.0

Large-scale 5G rollouts will fuel automation

The Human Factor
warehouse header image
When it comes to Industry 4.0, 5G will be a major driver in allowing for new operating models. But to be successful, it must be embedded into the industrial automation process. Automation combined with the lightning speed of 5G will create greater efficiencies and cost savings but will also result... Read More

Augmented intelligence and the future of work

The Economics
augmented intelligence header
From automation and AI to digital mobility and virtual collaboration, technology is reshaping the very nature of work. As digitization and the rise of machine intelligence transform business enterprise, organizations are increasingly under pressure to redesign their workflow processes. Building on algorithms and machine learning, business leaders must now balance... Read More

Transhumanism: The economic and biological impact of automation

The Human Factor
transhumanism header image
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are introducing massive changes across the global economic landscape. AI is now the basis for a wide range of mainstream technologies including medical diagnosis, financial accounting, factory assembly, and self-driving cars. According to MIT economists, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, postindustrial economies are... Read More

Why good companies fail

The Human Factor
Dr. Jagdish N. Sheth wrote an excellent book on why good companies fail, called “The self-destructive habits of good companies and how to break them.” In it, I found that the average life of a company was about 14 years. Sheth believes that there are at least six significant external... Read More

From pickaxes to predictive AI

The Economics
ore and conveyor belt
The global mining industry, which generated $600 billion in revenue last year, long ago left pickaxes and panning behind. Now, the business of extracting value from far below the earth has gone high-tech. Global consulting firm BDO predicts that by 2020: Autonomous trucks at mine sites will boost mining output... Read More

The future of work is dependent on collaboration and communication

The Economics
illustration of human robot collaboration
Growing automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have raised concerns over employment, with fears that more jobs will be replaced by smarter machines. Market research firm Forrester forecasts that “knowledge engineering” will factor into 10 percent of enterprise jobs. One-tenth of startups will have more digital workers than human ones, but... Read More

Global transformation in the era of 5G

The Politics
night time cityscape with woman using smartphone
5G, or fifth generation mobile telecommunications, will drive a chain reaction of innovation that will transform virtually every industry. The rollout of 5G networks will mean a very different business and communications ecosystem, connecting a vast network of sensors, robots, and autonomous vehicles through sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and machine... Read More

AI will reduce construction site injuries and deaths

The Technology
young woman working on construction site roof
In the coming years, the construction industry will undergo serious disruption. The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and robotics will soon provide solutions to the industry’s greatest challenges –  overcoming cost/schedule overruns, risk mitigation and boosting productivity. While many industries – like financial services and telecommunications –... Read More

Combining IT and operations for a successful IoT service

The Economics
hand pinning a piece of paper against a mood board
This article is part of our series, “Four keys to developing a winning IoT service.” For more from this series, visit William Dupley. Information technology for business has historically been limited to the delivery of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, email, back-office systems, data centers and networking communications. Operational technology... Read More

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