AI is going to turn the tech sector upside down: how do you deal with it?

Techniek Nederland conducted extensive research last year on the impact of new technologies such as AI, robotization and industrialization on the sector. The comprehensive report on this will be presented at DigiBouw to be held next November. Terry Heemskerk, innovation program manager at Techniek Nederland, talks ahead of the event about what struck him most.

With the study, Techniek Nederland makes developments transparent for its supporters, Heemskerk says. 'We are looking at the medium term, so we have now looked up to 2030. What will AI, robotization and industrialization mean for the industry and for the operations of individual companies. What does it mean for you if you start working with these techniques? What is the consequence if you don't keep up?

Advance of AI

What Heemskerk finds most striking about the research is the meteoric rise of AI in the past year. 'This project started out as a study of Robotization, AI and Industrialization. But AI has developed so quickly that we ended up putting AI before robotization. The speed at which AI has developed has surprised everyone; no one had seen this coming.

A lot of companies are already working on AI and robotization. Everyone agrees that the impact could be disruptive. These techniques are going to turn the entire industry upside down. 'In doing so, it directly affects business continuity, your added value as an installer or technical service provider. You can take a positive or a negative view. Positive is that you can work with it. Negatively, if you don't delve into it, your earning model will be swept away,' thinks Heemskerk. 'Of course there are gradations in that. If you have a small business in the consumer market, then the impact will not be very big. But if you're a business service provider with lots of connections and partnerships, then the impact is much greater.'

What does this mean for me?

So organizations that want to be relevant in the future will have to delve into AI. But that does not mean, according to Heemskerk, that they should dive completely into the technology. 'You have to focus on what AI can do for your business. Try to get a clear view of that.'

Heemserk emphasizes that entrepreneurs should look into the various forms of AI. 'So look not only at generative AI, such as Chat GPT, but also at hybrid AI. Maybe the latter is much more interesting for your business. Furthermore, you can only take full advantage of AI if the quality of your input is good.'

Furthermore, you have to see the broad picture. 'Look not only at business economics, but also at recruiting new employees or retraining current employees. Because AI also impacts the people you have and the people you are looking for. Moreover, the different technologies impact each other. For example, AI is conditional for robotization, it is part of everything.'

AI will only become more important

It is important to realize that AI and robotization are not going away, so there is no point in being afraid of them. Still, Heemskerk does understand that fear. 'There is sometimes a certain fear that some work will be taken over by robots or AI. But then the work is often boring, heavy or dirty. Moreover, we are facing a tight labor market, so the removal of heavy or routine work is actually quite welcome.'

Finally, we have to realize that there is a lot of investment in AI, especially in the U.S. and China. Heemskerk: 'So we too must invest in it to maintain our leading position or at least keep up. That will only become more important.'

Techniek Nederland on DigiBouw

During DigiBuild on November 20 and 21, the report will be presented to the chairman of Techniek Nederland, Doekle Terpstra. There will also be an in-depth session provided by Techniek Nederland and TNO together, which will zoom in much deeper on exactly what the outcomes of the report and research are. What will this mean for the engineering sector, how companies can prepare for new technologies, what opportunities are there, how Techniek Nederland can help these companies further.