Industry 4.0 pioneer warns against following the hype

Australia risks becoming a mere consumer of technology rather than a producer if it continues following global best practices instead of charting its own course in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, according to Professor Henrik von Scheel, the strategist who coined the term “Industry 4.0”.

Speaking ahead of his keynote at Industrial Transformation Australia next week, Professor von Scheel warned that whilst Australia excels at technology adoption, it struggles with execution because it implements the same solutions as everyone else.

“If Australia follows the hype, they will do like everybody else and be a consumer of the product. And Australia needs to develop a product at the core,” Professor von Scheel said during an interview last week with @AuManufacturing.

The professor, who will present three keynotes at the Sydney event from July 22-24, argues that the Fourth Industrial Revolution comprises eight evolutionary stages, with the world currently in the fourth stage – the economic revolution. This phase involves what he describes as one of the biggest economic shifts in human history, including a global monetary system reset within the next 18 months.

Rather than competing on technology alone, Professor von Scheel believes Australia should leverage its key strength: putting people at the centre of transformation.

“The key strength that Australia can leverage is Australia has a very strong focus on people,” he said. “The more technology we implement, the more re-humanisation we need to focus on.”

The professor's concerns about Australia's approach extend beyond manufacturing. He suggests the country needs closed-door discussions with government to identify 2-3 key differentiating solutions within Industry 4.0, drawing inspiration from successful models like Germany and South Korea.

One example he cited involves rethinking banking regulations to support inventory financing for manufacturers – potentially unlocking capital 9-12 months earlier to enable faster production and shipping, making Australian manufacturers more competitive despite higher resource costs.

Professor von Scheel also challenged prevailing assumptions about artificial intelligence, describing much of the current hype as “intellectual stealing” with limited real value for companies. He argues that most AI projects branded as such are actually digitalisation projects, since manufacturers haven't advanced far enough in digitalisation to properly implement AI.

“Technology by itself is worthless. Technology is only applied towards something, and AI is like a car – the car is faster than you, but you're still the driver,” he explained.

For Australian manufacturers feeling overwhelmed by technological change, Professor von Scheel offered reassurance that the solution lies not in technology but in the human element. He emphasised that the current period of disruption presents manufacturers with rare opportunities to rethink their customer relationships and value chain partnerships.

“The one element that entered into them that wasn't under the megatrends before was trust,” he said. “Whatever product they're selling, the real product that they're selling towards the value chain and customers is trust.”

Looking ahead 5-10 years, Professor von Scheel sees Australia's biggest opportunity in the bio revolution – the fifth evolutionary stage of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, expected to begin in four years.

“The bio revolution is the biggest transformational change that we will ever see in our human history,” he said, encompassing AI molecular data, future food, and personalised medicine.

He believes Australia could become a leader in this space, particularly given its strong moral compass – something he considers essential as technology becomes more integrated with human biology.

The professor was notably critical of telecommunications providers, accusing them of misleading consumers about 5G capabilities. He argued that current 5G networks are merely “tweaked versions of 4G” and fall far short of the one terabyte upload and download speeds originally envisioned for true 5G infrastructure.

Professor von Scheel will present on manufacturing megatrends affecting productivity, resilience and growth, followed by sessions on process industries and sustainability. He plans to meet with Australian government officials during his visit, hoping to influence policy directions.

“I'm here to serve. I'm here to meet exciting people. I'm here to explore new things. And I'm also here to leapfrog Australia,” he said.

The key message he hopes participants take away is simple: “That they actually see how they can fit into the future and how they can participate.”

@AuManufacturing is a media partner to Industrial Transformation Australia 2025. You can find more information about the free event – to be held July 22-24 at  The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park – at this link.

You can hear more from von Scheel in this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with Hannover Messe’s Industrial Transformation Australia event

Picture: supplied