How AI can unlock new possibilities for global productivity and sustainability

On the bustling shop floor of thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering, Marcus Schoenherr greets his newest team member — not a human, but an advanced generative AI assistant. “Moin!” he says, a local German greeting, and the Siemens Industrial Copilot, which can respond in any language, replies in perfect German. Over the next few hours, Schoenherr interacts with his AI assistant in his native tongue. Together, they troubleshoot and refine automation code — much faster than before, without the need for complex programming languages.

This isn’t just a breakthrough in technology; it’s a seismic shift in the way we work. And it couldn't have come at a better time.

Why? Because in advanced economies, innovation rates and productivity growth have been declining for decades. The EU has fallen further behind, as noted by Italy’s former Prime Minister and former European Central Bank President, Mario Draghi, in his recent report. The productivity gap, he explains, has one clear cause: Europe has failed to maximize the value of digital technologies.

We need a digital strategy to refresh the economic landscape. And, with technologies like AI, we have one.

The great value of AI lies in its ability to make data actionable. In highly automated factories, machines produce a quantity of data that is equal to half a million movies each month — vast amounts of data that have, until now, been vastly underused. With AI, however, manufacturers can unlock this treasure trove. It collates data, analyzes patterns, reveals inefficiencies, predicts outcomes and enables smarter decision-making. Quality control alone, for example, now requires 95% less effort.

And, it isn’t just for factories. In healthcare, it can be used to assist with interpreting images, such as MRI scans and X-rays. In agriculture, it can help robots identify fruits ripe for picking. In buildings, it can evaluate data from building blocks, to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs and carbon emissions.

When you combine AI with digital twins — virtual replicas of real-world systems – its impact becomes even greater. The possibilities include everything from performance monitoring and optimization to creating more realistic simulations and making precise predictions.

HD Hyundai, for example, uses AI-powered digital twins to validate complex designs for its liquid natural gas carriers — ships comprising over 7 million parts — before production gets underway. This drastically reduces risks, costs and time.

Imagine using this combination of technologies to transform our world from smarter factories, more efficient transportations systems to more sustainable infrastructure. The transformative potential is limitless.

And, it is people who will realize the biggest benefits.

Industrial AI assistants can help people, like Schoenherr, to innovate, collaborate and make informed decisions more effectively. It enables people of every background and skill set to focus on higher-value work that only people can do, while AI handles the more repetitive tasks.

The motion technology company, Schaeffler, for example, is piloting the Siemens Industrial Copilot for generating machine code, as well as for operational tasks, such as maintenance and repairs. The company is among more than 100 companies in Europe and the United States using the Industrial Copilot to streamline machine programming and tackle complex problems.

This change in workflows will create an unmistakable upturn in productivity — and a more fulfilling work experience for our human colleagues.

But, the key to success requires giving people the right training to thrive in this new tech era.

By 2027, 60% of global manufacturers will use generative AI as a tool to help people gain expertise faster. Among other use cases, the technology will capture the expertise of retiring employees and transfer it to the next generation, helping to mitigate the growing shortage of skilled labour.

People will get smarter — and industries will, too.

As technology makes industries smarter, the global productivity gap will become a thing of the past. That’s exactly what happened in the IT sector: It used to be that one IT administrator serviced 1,000 tickets. Today, thanks to digitalization, they can service 100,000. We don’t have fewer IT jobs; we have better productivity.

The same dynamic will unfold when we make digital technologies standard across more industries.

Consider our World Economic Forum Lighthouse factories: In Amberg, output has increased 20-fold over 18 years, while the number of people working remains the same. In Erlangen, advanced technologies, including AI and digital twins, have driven a 69% increase in productivity and a 42% decrease in energy consumption. Throughout, continuous training is offered to equip our people with the skills they need as roles evolve.

This is the power of technologies, like AI and digital twins, in action. When combined with industry-specific know-how, they can unlock new possibilities for everyone — making cutting-edge solutions more accessible and helping us tackle our most pressing challenges, from equitable growth to sustainability. The way we embrace and deploy these technologies today will shape the future for us all.