Envisioning the Future of AI in ManufacturingEnvisioning the Future of AI in Manufacturing
AI will impact every aspect of manufacturing and fundamentally change how business is done, says Dr. Shawn DuBravac, futurist and CEO at Avrio Institute and keynote speaker at MD&M West 2025.
January 31, 2025

At a Glance
- MD&M West 2025 will be held February 4-6 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
- DuBravac is author of Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, Live, and Communicate.
- Avrio Institute takes its name from the Greek word for tomorrow, aύριο.
ArtificiaI intelligence “will create new ways for manufacturers to provide value and create new service offerings for them,” Dr. Shawn DuBravac, futurist and CEO at Avrio Institute, told Design News.
In his keynote address at MD&M West 2025, DuBravac will talk about the ways in which AI is reshaping manufacturing. “Ultimately, it will create more data-driven decision making,” he said. For instance, it will provide more real-time monitoring, which “will presumably reduce waste and other input costs, so it'll create more efficient operations—something that every manufacturer is trying to achieve in a world where profitability is measured in pennies.”
DuBravac's keynote address, “AI and the Future of Manufacturing: Envisioning What’s Next,” will be held Wednesday, February 5, from 9 to 10 a.m. in the Level 3 Ballroom.
DuBravac believes that AI will also enable manufacturers to scale workforces in ways they haven't been able to do in the past. “That's a big element of manufacturing—the margin that you make on your employees, essentially what you're able to produce per worker and what you're able to charge for that,” he said.
“And then I think [AI] will allow them ultimately to meet their customers where they're at, it will allow them to create customization and personalization at scale,” DuBravac continued.
One of the emerging trends DuBravac sees with AI is the use of digital twins, which can reduce costs of production and design times, he said. “It will improve the product quality and presumably make it more efficient, using less inputs, less materials. From a simulation standpoint, there are lots of opportunities there and optimization, but also from an operations standpoint, there's a lot of opportunity,” he said.
“AI is very good at making predictions cheap and inexpensive,” he said. “In some cases, companies will run millions of simulations digitally before they ever go live with it,” he explained. “And so, I think there's lots of opportunities there.”
DuBravac mentioned that companies are just starting to see how generative AI can play a role in manufacturing and change the way workers interact with equipment. “We've seen some use cases where the manuals for the equipment can be built into generative AI systems, so that workers can just talk to the equipment rather than having to go look up information in a manual,” he said.
All of these technologies—AI, robotics, automation—are no longer future concepts, regardless of what companies are manufacturing, DuBravac said. “This is a present reality that's reshaping every aspect of manufacturing in every sector of the economy,” he said.
“I think it's important that [manufacturers] adopt these technologies or at least start to experiment with them and explore them now, in order to stay competitive globally.”
DuBravac hopes his attendees come away from his keynote address with the information they need to start investing in these options, “so when the future arrives, we’re ready for it,” he said.
“I hope they gain insights into practical applications of these technologies and then ultimately to implement them into their own operations,” he concluded. “I want them to feel inspired but also equipped to take the next step.”
DuBravac will present the keynote address, “AI and the Future of Manufacturing: Envisioning What’s Next,” on Wednesday, February 5, from 9 to 10 a.m. in the Level 3 Ballroom.
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