Which specific opportunities can artificial intelligence unlock for Czech industry to remain competitive?
Lukáš Benzl, Director of the Czech Association of Artificial Intelligence, answers Priority magazine’s question.
“Artificial intelligence offers Czech industry a collection of tools that can considerably boost its competitiveness if employed in a coordinated way. At its core, this involves enhancing productivity in a context of inherently high labour costs. The Czech Republic has long ceased to be a ‘low-cost assembly hub’, and the ongoing pressure on wages and a shortage of workers in industry have become a lasting issue. AI facilitates the automation of repetitive engineering tasks, accelerates product design, optimises production lines and thus helps keep unit costs within acceptable limits.
The second aspect is qualitative. Czech industry often functions as a subcontractor, where AI offers an opportunity to break free from being a passive link in the value chain. A Czech company can provide more than individual components through predictive maintenance, digital twins and AI-assisted design. It can evolve into a partner that supplies knowledge, data and intelligent processes. This is essential, as profit margins in globalised industry are sustained in those parts of the chain where the added value is intangible.
The third aspect is strategic. AI allows companies to move from reactive to proactive decision-making. While Czech industry frequently works in a ‘just-in-time’ manner, the reality of global disruptions requires more resilient management practices. Algorithms can simulate supply chains, assess risks and forecast demand scenarios, enabling industrial companies to be more adaptable and anticipatory than competitors in regions where digitalisation investments are lagging. If Czech industry broadly embraces AI, it can stay among the leading Central European economies instead of being caught in the middle between lower-cost Asia and more technologically advanced Western Europe.”
