Factories Are Changing Fast, and It’s Not Just About the Tech

Factories around the world are in the middle of a massive shift, the kind we haven’t really seen since the Industrial Revolution. Everyone talks about digital transformation like it’s a switch you can flip, but in reality, it’s more like rewiring the whole building while people are still working inside. Ericsson brought us this important topic in their article, “Why going digital is still a challenge for factories?“

A lot of manufacturers are still running on legacy systems that have been in place for years, sometimes decades. When you try to layer in artificial intelligence (AI), automation and Internet of Things (IoT), things can get messy fast. Data lives in different places, systems don’t always talk to each other and there’s often a gap between what the technology can do and what teams are trained to handle.

And then there’s cybersecurity. The more connected everything becomes, the more doors you’re unintentionally leaving open. Innovation is exciting, but it also comes with risk, and that balance is tricky.

But the biggest challenge is not actually the technology. It’s the mindset. This kind of change asks people to work differently, think differently and trust systems they may not fully understand.

That’s where explainable AI comes in. If people can’t understand how decisions are being made, they won’t trust them. The factories that figure out how to combine human experience with digital intelligence and actually bring their people along in the process, are the ones that will come out ahead.

Melody K. Smith

Data Harmony is an award-winning semantic suite that leverages explainable AI.

Sponsored by Access Innovations, uniquely positioned to help you in your AI journey.