Frontier Technologies in Industrial Operations 2025

Images: Getty Images Disclaimer This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its Members, Partners or other stakeholders. © 2025 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system.Contents Reading guide 3 Foreword 4 Executive summary 5 Introduction 6 1 The next leap: reinventing industrial operations through 7 frontier technologies 1.1 Entering the next frontier: the path towards self-control 8 1.2 Redefining the role of humans: from operators 8 to AI-enabled orchestrators 2 AI agents fuelling the transformation of operations 10 2.1 Virtual AI – paving the way for autonomous systems 12 2.2 Embodied AI – igniting a new era in robotics 15 3 Strategic imperatives for industrial operations transformation 18 3.1 Paving the way for successful use of AI agents 18 in industrial operations 3.2 Staying at the forefront of AI agent innovations 19 3.3 Building the foundations: organizational and technological 19 Conclusion 21 Contributors 22 Endnotes 25 Frontier Technologies in Industrial Operations 2