Automation, AI and OR: In search of the synergy and publication priorities

Automation is having a profound effect on the way we do work. It is estimated that nearly $40 billion was invested in US industrial automation in 1991, with heavy investment in the European Union and the Asia–Pacific region as well. Some argue that technologies such as microelectrics will lead to widespread structural unemployment and an even greater sector of permanently unemployed. It would seem that OR and AI should be intimately involved in the various decisions that occur over the life cycle of automation technologies. Both of these disciplines share a common heritage and together they could help to improve the benefits reaped from increased usage of automation. In fact both are involved in the automation of decision making to varying degrees. This paper investigates the synergy between automation, AI, and OR using a bibliometric analysis of ABI INFORM citations. Simulation and expert systems were the two methodologies most often found in synergy articles. The results also show that the synergy between these fields has received limited coverage in professional and academic journals.