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20 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2021 when it is paired with people to drive bet- ter outcomes. Let me repeat that: To succeed with intelligent automation, it is vital to put people first and evolve their skills and roles to really take full advantage of its benefits. As with any push toward automation, the perpet- ual fear is that people will no longer be needed. The fact is nothing could be further from the truth (Figure 2). People and automated processes must col- laborate in the overall workflow to comple- ment each other and compensate for each oth- er's shortcomings. While the skill set and job title may be vastly different than before, peo- ple are an irreplaceable piece of Industry 4.0 and smart processes. An effectively designed process should not only utilize the power of technology to process large volumes of data or perform repetitive tasks with high accuracy, but also recognize the qualities people add for decision making, improvising, and innovating. One of the most widely used intelligent auto- mation tools are "smart algorithms." Smart algorithms are on the verge of pervading all aspects of business and our daily lives. Have you ever done an online "chat" while trying to get technical support and a chatbot would try to answer your question or narrow down your issue before connecting you with a live per- son? How about saying "Hey Siri" or "Alexa, play country music?" Those are prime exam- ples of smart algorithms. Most initial efforts focused on the "low hanging fruit," such as replacing awkward text interfaces with natu- ral language processing interaction, perform- ing pattern recognition in huge data sets, or automating repetitive or highly regulated pro- cesses requiring low human intelligence. Cur- rent developments in smart algorithms are looking to automate higher value-added tasks. Industry 5.0? It's incredibly exciting to be on the front lines as our companies transform from the inte- gration of computerization and automation that Industry 3.0 brought us to the connec- tivity, machine learning and smart processes of Industry 4.0. As we scramble to embrace the incredible benefits of this technology, I know someone, somewhere, is already think- ing about the things that will become Indus- try 5.0. SMT007 References 1. IDC White Paper, #US44413318. Steve Williams is the president of The Right Approach Consulting. Read Steve's column, The Right Approach, on PCB007.com. A no-nonsense view of manufacturing and management strategies. Figure 2: Be sure to take full advantage of the benefits of the digital world.