Exploring meaningful industrial work in human–technology–AI teams
What happens when people, technology and AI truly work as a team?
This question was at the heart of the HiFive project final webinar, held on 19 March 2026, where researchers and industry partners came together to share the project’s results and reflect on how industrial work is evolving in an increasingly digital and AI-enabled environment.
The webinar highlighted different perspectives on meaningful industrial work, from human-centric approaches and emerging technologies to the practical experiences of companies navigating digitalisation and automation.
AI assistants designed around real industrial work
One of the contributions came from Bastian Tammentie, Research Scientist at VTT and a member of our consortium, who presented the HiFive project’s proof-of-concept work on AI assistants in industrial work.
His work addressed a practical but increasingly important question: How can AI genuinely support people and make everyday industrial work smoother?
Together with the HiFive team, two AI assistant concepts were developed and tested:
- Supporting workers in learning new tasks: The first concept was designed to help workers, particularly those unfamiliar with a task, access relevant support and get up to speed more quickly.
- Supporting everyday problem-solving: The second concept focused on assisting workers when challenges or questions arise during common work tasks.
Importantly, the work was not only about demonstrating what AI assistants can do. The proof-of-concept also explored where AI can provide meaningful support, what its limitations are, and how AI assistants should be designed to integrate naturally into existing work practices.
Collaboration at the heart of human-centric AI
Developing useful AI for industrial environments requires more than technology alone. It requires an understanding of people, their tasks and working environments, as well as close collaboration between research and industry.
By bringing together expertise from research, technology and industrial partners, the HiFive project was able to examine the future of industrial work from multiple perspectives and explore how technological development can go hand in hand with meaningful, human-centric work.
The final webinar marked an important milestone for HiFive and an opportunity to bring together the knowledge generated throughout the project. At the same time, the questions explored during the project extend well beyond its conclusion.
The conversation around human-centric AI, meaningful work and successful collaboration between people and intelligent technologies is only getting started.