How the Digital Transformation can put humans at the centre of robotics and automation

The study, carried out by Ab.Acus and Wise Angle Consulting on behalf of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), starts from the acknowledgement that Digital Transformation (DT) is changing the economy, remodelling the business activities, transforming the world of work and, more in general, affecting common daily activities. Despite the remarkable effort of the EU in encouraging the use of advanced technologies, EU businesses are not currently taking full advantage of them or of the innovative business models offered by the collaborative economy. To avoid missing out the growth of the DT potential, policy makers and business leaders must be prepared for it and devote more effort to build future societies permeated by a sustainable and inclusive DT.

The present study demonstrates that, to achieve this goal, organizations must embrace DT putting people at its centre, which also implies that the application of these technologies should not only be consistent with legal and regulatory prescriptions, but also be coherent to ethical principles and ensure that their implementations avoid unintended harm.

Champions of a positive DT implementation, able not only to replace humans in certain tasks but to empower them, have been searched and investigated. Despite the diversity of needs and objectives, all the successful cases shared clarity of objectives, codesign practices, wide and tailored communication to the workers, as well as extensive involvement of the management.

Finally, from the results of the field investigations, the study identifies a set of operational recommendations for both DT adopters and policy makers.