Chris Holman welcomes back Tom Kelly, President & CEO, Automation Alley, Troy, MI.

Watch Tom and Chris discuss Automation Alley’s Integr8 2025, AI in manufacturing, and how Industry 4.0 is shaping the future in the YouTube video shared below:

Chris had several things he wanted to find out from Tom in this latest conversation:

Integr8 2025 discussion: 

Integr8 is your annual event series and Automation Alley changed its format for Integr8 last year from a single-day event to a multi-event roundtable series with corresponding industry playbooks. How did it go? 

Did people like the new format? 

Automation Alley recently announced its 2025 Integr8 Roundtable Series focused on Industry 4.0’s most pressing challenges. Can you tell us more about it? 

The 2025 series will feature five focused roundtables, with corresponding playbooks capturing key insights and strategies from each discussion. Can you walk us through what attendees can expect at each roundtable? 

Can you also tell us more about the playbooks and how people can access them? 

There’s a new element to the Integr8 Series this year – Spring and Fall Mixer events. What can attendees expect during these networking-focused events? 

Who should attend these roundtables? 

How can they register? 

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Summary

 Automation Alley kicked off their 2025 Integr8 Series with a comprehensive playbook on artificial intelligence in industry, built for and by our members. This foreword by our CEO Tom Kelly showcases how agentic AI and closed vs. open source systems will define the future. 

Three years ago, AI stormed into the public consciousness, sparking both excitement and skepticism. The apocalypse didn’t arrive, nor did we see a utopian manufacturing renaissance with flawless production and boundless efficiency. So, what’s the reality? Were the bold predictions just hype? 

The truth is less dramatic but no less important. AI’s transformative potential in manufacturing requires more than algorithms—it demands hard work, perseverance, and expertise to implement solutions effectively. While the journey is ongoing, 2025 has brought significant advancements in AI, particularly in addressing long-standing challenges around privacy and capability. 

For years, manufacturers hesitated to adopt AI fully due to privacy concerns. Sharing critical data—such as downtime metrics or production figures—with open-source AI platforms posed unacceptable risks. But the tide is turning. Privatized AI agents are emerging as game-changers, enabling manufacturers to harness AI’s power securely.

 Technologies like NVIDIA’s Jetson platform are paving the way. By leveraging secure, on-premise AI systems, manufacturers can now train machines, automate programming through vision systems, and execute complex tasks without exposing sensitive data. This shift is unlocking new levels of productivity while maintaining control over proprietary information. 

As part of the 2025 Integr8 Series, we invited industry, academia and government to join us for a roundtable discussion to reflect on AI’s journey so far: 

Initial Use Cases: What early AI deployments succeeded—or fell short? Balancing Open-Source and Proprietary Systems: How are members leveraging open AI tools alongside secure, closed systems? What cybersecurity and workforce training considerations have emerged? 

The Next Barrier: With the privacy hurdle largely addressed, what challenges lie ahead? Will the vast data pools AI relies on begin to dry up, stalling further innovation? 

These are the pressing questions we’ll explore as we analyze the past three years and look toward the future. By drawing on the experiences and insights of our trusted community, we aim to chart a path forward for AI in manufacturing. 

Join us for the 2025 Integr8 Series and be part of shaping AI’s next chapter. Your insights matter, and together, we’ll continue driving progress in manufacturing’s digital transformation.‍ 

Read the published 2025 Integr8 Playbook, “Boosting Productivity in the AI Frontier,” at https://integr8series.com/boosting-productivity-in-the-ai-frontier/