The Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board and the Industry 4.0 Platform have issued a critique of the use of the term "Industry 5.0". As a reminder: Industry 4.0 was presented to the general public for the first time at the Hannover Messe 2011 with an industrial vision. This model is still highly topical. The Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Council and the Industry 4.0 platform criticize the frivolous and unnecessary use of the term "Industry 5.0", which does not contain any new content and contributes to uncertainty. Industry 4.0 stands for the fourth industrial revolution and its ongoing change, which encompasses all areas of society.

Industry 5.0 tends to be counterproductive

The term "Industry 5.0" has been used more frequently recently to focus on "human-centeredness", among other things. However, according to the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Council and the Industry 4.0 Platform, the term Industry 4.0 has always included the benefits for society as its most important goal. In addition, the term Industry 4.0 stands for the fourth industrial revolution, which, like all previous revolutions, will take a long time to be fully implemented. This includes the use of new technologies and value creation models involving the people involved. The typical software abbreviation "4.0" symbolizes the importance of software in this process, but should not be understood as a version number and replaced by "5.0".

"The fourth industrial revolution - i.e. Industry 4.0 - encompasses a wide range of aspects," explains Peter Liggesmeyer (Fraunhofer IESE), spokesperson for science on the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board. "The content that is currently being discussed as Industry 5.0 is included in its entirety. There is therefore a risk that the unnecessary term will lead to confusion."

"Our mission is the scaling and broad implementation of the principles of Industry 4.0. We can only achieve this goal through the committed participation of SMEs," emphasizes Henrik Schunk (Schunk), Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Industry 4.0 platform. "The discussion about an Industry 5.0 is not only misleading, but also risks the essential acceptance and participation of this key group. The core topics such as work design, human-centered approaches and the development and integration of AI and generative AI are already being addressed intensively in the Industry 4.0 working groups. A call leads to irritation and therefore makes no sense."