Is it an AI-shift or an Industry 5.0-shift?

Just this week, I’ve been to an event about AI and security, worked on a presentation about the future of skills, and discussed how business models are changing rapidly due to the token-economy. That's just this week. These aren't isolated topics, but are a perfect snapshot of what is on everyone's mind right now. I know they have “AI” written all over them, but the term feels a bit too narrow to capture the actual shift we are witnessing.

Part of the problem is that “AI” itself is an old phrase. When I talk to friends or colleagues who are way more technical than I am, they always point out that we’ve had AI and machine learning since the 1950s. For seventy years, it has fundamentally described a technological toolset, not a cultural or economic epoch.

Focusing solely on "AI" narrows our view to the code and the algorithm, entirely ignoring how we are restructuring human labor, organizational design, and societal value. Calling this monumental transition an "AI shift" is like looking at the dawn of the first Industrial Revolution and calling it a "steam shift." It completely misses the systemic nature of the evolution.

Instead, I think Industry 5.0 is a better fit for the structural changes we are seeing currently. In short, Industry 5.0 shifts the focus from pure machine-driven automation, IoT and hyper-efficiency (4.0) to three core pillars:

• Human-centricity

• Sustainability

• Resilience

It’s the realization that the next era isn't about replacing humans with AI. It’s about how we use AI to supercharge human creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. We are moving from “How fast can this machine do it?” to “How can this technology help our teams solve more meaningful, human-centric problems?”

• Industry 1.0 (The Steam Age): We replaced human muscle with mechanical power. The focus was basic mechanization.

• Industry 2.0 (The Electricity Age): We introduced mass production and the assembly line. The focus shifted to sheer volume and standardization.

• Industry 3.0 (The Computer Age): We brought the microchip and early automation to the office and the factory floor. The focus became digital precision.

• Industry 4.0 (The Connected Age): We wired everything together through the Internet of Things, big data, and cloud infrastructure. The focus was hyper-connectivity and eliminating human friction.

• Industry 5.0 (The Orchestration Age): We pair machine scale with human ingenuity. The focus shifts from pure automation to strategic creativity and human-centric systems.

According to The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report, core skills in 2030 will be “AI and big data” and “Technological literacy” – but equally important is “Creative thinking,” “Resilience, flexibility and agility” and “Empathy and active listening,” which are all inherently human traits.

This duality outlines the blueprint of the future professional. Technological literacy is merely the ticket to entry, but human-centric skills are the true differentiator. As AI democratizes access to information, the premium shifts drastically toward contextual judgment, empathy, and ethical critical thinking.

Klarna, the Swedish financial technology company and digital bank, laid of 2,000 employees due to expected efficiencies due to AI, but then hired a lot of them back because they were lacking the human in the loop. As a representative for Klarna put it:

“AI gives us speed. Talent gives us empathy. The magic happens when the two work together. A well-trained human team, supported by AI for efficiency, can deliver service that’s fast when appropriate, yet personal and empathetic when it counts.”

IKEA instead chose to re-skill call center workers to become interior designers, which led to 1.3 billion euros of revenue.

These examples are both about AI, but they capture the dividing line between an Industry 4.0 mindset and an Industry 5.0 mindset.

Downsizing is a remnant of 4.0 thinking – treating humans as costs to be minimized. The course correction by Klarna and the proactive re-skilling by IKEA represents the dawn of Industry 5.0 thinking.

IKEA didn't see automation as an opportunity to cut heads. They saw it as an opportunity to liberate human capital. By shifting workers from troubleshooting to creative, high-value designers, they unlocked new revenue while elevating their brand experience. They used technology to expand human potential, not erase it.

At Manyone, we believe that every major shift offers an opportunity – not to simply optimize what exists, but to rethink it entirely. Processes, tech, experiences, products, and the entire value-chain must be redesigned.

Today, many of our projects center around how to integrate, apply, and balance AI, people and processes. And while "AI transformation" captures the technological shift, the broader concept of Industry 5.0 offers a more compelling framework.

It recognizes that the future isn't just about deploying intelligent systems; it's about designing organizations where technology amplifies human capabilities rather than replacing them.

If that's the direction we're heading, then perhaps the defining characteristic of being a "top professional" won't simply be technical expertise. It will be the ability to be deeply human: bringing creativity, empathy, judgment, and collaboration to problems that technology alone cannot solve.