Before AI agents can take part in industrial work, they need to understand more than an isolated asset record or work order. In Agentic AI – Automating for Scale and Encouraging Agentic AI Adaptability in Digital Twins, the panel explores how digital twins can bring together engineering information, operating conditions, equipment relationships and work processes to give AI the context for useful action.
The discussion draws a distinction between an assistant that offers a recommendation and an agent that prepares or carries out part of a task. As AI moves closer to action, the quality of its information and the controls around it become more consequential. The speakers consider the role of shared semantics, engineering knowledge and checks built into workflows, as well as how much confidence is needed for different users and decisions.
A central question is whether autonomy should be the goal. The panel offers different perspectives on how far machines may eventually be allowed to act, while returning to operational value as the measure of progress. Automation may be appropriate for particular decisions or steps in a process, but people still need to understand the system’s behaviour and remain accountable for outcomes. This calls for transparency that helps teams see what an agent has done and recognise when its models or underlying data need attention.
The conversation also addresses adoption. A solution proven on one asset can be difficult to repeat across others when data structures and work processes vary. The speakers discuss adapting new tools to the way teams work, introducing change at a pace they can use, and moving beyond digital twin visualisation towards integrated workflows and simulation that support decisions.
The panel closes with a look at how AI may change industrial work in the coming years, including the skills people will need as more routine tasks are automated. Watch the full discussion to hear the different views on autonomy, trust and where agentic AI is already creating practical value.
Speaker
- Susan Burrell, PO Digital Twin, ERP & Data Foundations, Shell
- Lars Meloe, Principal Consultant, Digital Trust Venture, Energy Systems, DNV
- Michel Teughels, ExxonMobil Product Solutions, Transformation & Innovation, Process Operations Product Manager, ExxonMobil
- Joe McDonald, CEO, Hazid Technologies
Moderator
- Prashant Soni, CEO, VISCO
