Autonomous Transformation

CHAPTER 22Autonomous Transformation Technologies: A Leader's Guide

Autonomous Transformation is comprised of five key technologies: artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, digital twins/simulations, robotics, and virtual and augmented reality.

The first four have each passed their inflection points, demonstrated by organizations around the world setting their strategies and investing in building or buying these capabilities. The inflection points for virtual and augmented reality, on the other hand, will arrive when the right degree of technological advancements and policy enable commoditization in both enterprise and consumer markets. They are included in the scope of Autonomous Transformation because they will become a critical lens through which developments in artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, digital twins/simulations, and robotics can be observed, collaborated on, managed, and operated.

As with all new or reimagined technologies, the technologies of the era of Autonomous Transformation are best defined through examples. The following are three vignettes, with increasing complexity, to highlight the interplay and possibilities of these technologies.

I provide the caveat up front that the lines between Digital and Autonomous paradigms, as well as between Reformation and Transformation, are blurred, and that I am using Autonomous to describe the accumulated capability of several technologies that could also be leveraged to transition from the analog ...