An Introduction to Industry 5.0: History, Foundations, and Futures

The meaning of Industry 5.0 continues to evolve. It originally implied a reaction to the excesses of technologies in Industry 4.0, the era of cyber-physical systems and the Internet-of-Things. In the short time since the term was first used, artificial intelligence has taken over public attention, bringing new questions and new meanings. Many of the influences shaping our technologies, however, date back to the first Industrial Revolution: efficiency, profitability, etc. Will those same influences continue to shape future technological developments, or is this an era in which humans can choose to make new choices?