While the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) to
transform the manufacturing industry is not
new, long-ongoing experimentation hasn’t yet led
to widespread business benefits. Manufacturers
remain in “pilot purgatory,” with Gartner reporting
that only 21% of companies in the industry have
active AI initiatives in production.
However, new research from Google Cloud reveals
that the COVID-19 pandemic may have spurred
a significant increase in the use of AI and other
digital enablers among manufacturers. According
to the data – which polled more than 1,000 senior
manufacturing executives across seven countries –
76% of manufacturers have turned to digital enablers
and disruptive technologies such as data analytics,
cloud, and AI due to the pandemic.