Keynote Lecture
Exploring the Idea of Smart Industry Symbiotics
Fons Wijnhoven
University of Twente
Netherlands
www.utwente.nl
Brief Bio
Dr Fons Wijnhoven studied research methodology and mathematical political science at the University of Nijmegen and gained a PhD in Business information Systems at the University of Twente. He was an assistant and an associate professor of business information systems at the University of Twente and has become a consultant in information technological future analysis since his retirement. Fons has been co-chairing the ICSBT program from 2020 till 2025. He collaborates with Schneider Electric researchers on data centers and AI sustainability.
Abstract
Key statement and problem
In the evolution of human smartness, people have increasingly created powers to exploit human and environmental resources until its limits have become manifest, as reported in IPCC reports. Artificial intelligence further accelerates human exploitation powers with limited care for human and ecological limitations. This presentation describes system dynamics as a tool to understand these industrial smartness dynamics and as a tool for finding back the symbiotics between smart activities and our ecological needs. This is illustrated by the case of data center build outs in the USA and some European regions. The presentation is completed with a smart industry research agenda for the near and longer term future.
Approach
The presentation will starts with a short literature review of the dimensions of smartness in industrial contexts and a presentation of ethical and ecological smartness dimensions. System dynamics is introduced next for the analysis of the shorter term and longer term impact of AI ecological costs and benefits for different AI and data center development scenarios. Finally, the presentation will discuss the idea of symbiotics between industries, information technologies and ecology and how researchers can contribute to the development of smart industry symbiotics in their projects.
Outcomes and use
Participants are given concepts, theories and methods of smart industry development, hand-on skills in symbiotic industry environment analysis with system dynamics, and an agenda for symbiotic smart industry research and teaching.