In their latest report "Artificial intelligence and industrial work", Fraunhofer IEM and Fraunhofer IML present approaches and fields of action on how AI can transform industrial production. The aim is to increase competitiveness and upgrade jobs. The application of AI includes the planning of production processes, the assumption of assembly activities, the programming of control systems and the organization of warehouses.
Expertise shows effects on various job profiles
AI will be widely used in industrial production in the future. Exactly how work will change is still largely unclear. The report looks at the effects on various job profiles and shows how business, politics and science can actively shape technological change. As part of the expertise, interviews and workshops were conducted with 35 experts from industry.
"AI is much more than the large language models that have been talked about so much since ChatGPT," explains Angelika Bullinger-Hoffmann (Chemnitz University of Technology), member of the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board. "In production in particular, the potential lies in humans and AI coming together in the machine. These hybrid teams are the future of production work. The expertise shows that the human-centered design of hybrid teams is crucial."
Generative AI makes artificial intelligence more accessible
Although the hype surrounding ChatGPT is currently sparking a broad social debate, the use of AI in industry is hesitant. Most companies are still in the planning and implementation phase. Only a few applications, in particular for AI-supported quality control, are already in productive use. Both physical and cognitive activities are supported. Generative AI will make applications much more accessible in the future. Job profiles will change, but will not disappear completely. AI unfolds its greatest potential in industrial work when companies combine the strengths of humans and AI and thus rely on hybrid intelligence.
Expertise sheds light on four job profiles
Four job profiles (warehouse logistics specialist, PLC programmer, production planner, assembly assistant) illustrate the changes in both physical and cognitive work in the industrial environment. The expertise provides ideas on how companies can actively and positively shape this change. For example, an assistant in assembly benefits from physical relief and support when learning new tasks, but could also feel patronized by AI and miss personal interaction. Companies could counteract this through active co-design and adaptive usage options for AI systems. Employees in production planning, for example, are relieved of repetitive work through the use of AI and have an enormous increase in knowledge. Although this has a positive effect on their scope for action, it also harbors the risk of blurring the boundaries between work and leisure. A healthy work culture and measures such as health prevention can be useful here.
AI increases the risk of polarization of work
In the course of the introduction of AI, there is a risk of job polarization, with the middle qualification levels disappearing. Job profiles should therefore be positively developed through targeted measures.
"AI alone will not make our working conditions better or worse. The decisive factor is how we design the use of AI and structure activities in organizations. Here, we should prioritize principles such as co-design and personal development and see humans and AI as a team - in order to become better and better together," emphasizes Prof. Roman Dumitrescu, Director at Fraunhofer IEM and head of the expertise.
The expertise shows concrete approaches on how companies, as well as politics and science, can actively shape the use of AI in industrial work. The socio-technical perspective, which focuses equally on people, organization and technology, should be emphasized. For example, it is important to create acceptance, build up skills, provide data of a suitable quality and increasingly collaborate on an interdisciplinary basis. The prerequisite for this is a strategic approach to AI technologies: in order to use AI effectively and increase one's own competitiveness, AI should be an integral part of the corporate and digitalization strategy.
The report can be downloaded free of charge from the acatech website.
