The Effect of Industrial Automation and Artificial Intelligence on Supply Chains With the Onset of COVID-19

Background

Simple globalization can be termed as the interdependence of world economies.

Information, ideas, and innovations are being sent throughout the world via digital flows, widening involvement in the global economy and boosting digital globalization. The flow of data ensures that the digital era continues to grow and is forcing small businesses, freelancers, and even big government organizations to go digital and thus become more global and accessible to the people. Digital globalisations have led to the development of global supply chains. Take an example of a simple laptop; it is possible that the computer was designed in another place, parts were imported from another site, and used in another location. Global supply chains refer to using different areas for various supply chain tasks to reduce the cost price. Figure 1 is used to depict the multiple features of globalization.

Figure 1.

Features of Globalisation

Digitization and four the Industrial Revolution leading to Dependencies on AI:

Digitization paired with artificial intelligence is being used to automate industries and reduce human effort. The fourth industry evolution is deeply interconnected with the usage of artificial intelligence. Our entire ecosystem revolves around the objects of the internet of things(IoT), the need to automate tasks and the need for fast flow of data to enhance the working of these devices is dire. Various technical methods are used in digitization, such as predictive analysis, machine learning, extensive data analysis, and artificial intelligence are some of the many tools that help in automating and decision making.

It is not wrong to say that Industry 4.0 will be of artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum technology, wearables, etc., and is bound to use the data generated and collected from the previous industrial revolution for this purpose. For the complete success of industry 4.0, several methodologies and strategies come. There are things that people need to change, which start from education.

People should not only have in-depth knowledge about their specializations but also should take into account the and at least have some knowledge of related fields.

It is being suggested that by 2030, 70 percent of the companies will be using at least one major artificial intelligence technology. People are concerned that artificial intelligence may lead to the loss of jobs. Skilled workers may not make a livelihood, contrary to the research conducted by Bughin et al., indicating AI can generate an additional $13 trillion in global economic activity by 2030, or a 16 percent increase in cumulative GDP over today. This equates to an annual increase in GDP of 1.2 percent (Fred Fontes, 2022).