Geopolitical uncertainty, shifting supply chains, rising costs, and the risk and reward of robotics and AI combine to make 2027 another year of hard choices for manufacturers, requiring them to walk a fine line between embracing bold transformations and canceling expensive experiments. For reasons that are well understood, manufacturers have always been less likely to transform at the same pace as less asset-heavy industries. But current trends around AI, geopolitics, and quantum are felt in manufacturing, too, and this sector’s business and technology leaders must find the pragmatic balance between the disruption caused by introducing them too quickly and the risk of being overtaken (or attacked) because they didn’t introduce them quickly enough. As Forrester’s team of analysts covering smart manufacturing and mobility look ahead to 2027, we predict that:

Physical AI will accelerate manufacturers’ adoption of automation by 25%.…