As manufacturers increasingly embrace artificial intelligence on shop floors, an industry group is calling for a national policy framework that supports U.S.-based AI growth, innovation, and leadership.
The goals of that approach should be to streamline compliance, foster transparency, and align energy, workforce, privacy, and innovation rules with the realities of smart manufacturing, according to a study from the Manufacturing Leadership Council, the digital transformation division of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
According to the NAM’s report, “Shaping the AI-Powered Factory of the Future,” American manufacturers are currently using AI in various ways. Three examples include: AI-powered cameras to enhance worker safety and eliminate product defaults; AI simulations to design new products and optimize shop floor operations; and AI data analytics to control costs and manage supply chains more efficiently.
Overall, 51% of manufacturers already use AI in their operations, with 61% expecting investment in AI will increase by 2027. By 2030, 80% say AI will be essential to growing or maintaining their business, the report found.
However, the report also said that manufacturers face ongoing barriers to using and scaling AI, with 65% of respondents reporting they lack the right data for AI applications and 62% citing data that is unstructured or poorly formatted.
To help manufacturers tackle those challenges, the report named areas where manufacturers may require additional investment, such as modernizing data architectures, developing a more knowledgeable workforce, building organizational trust, and accelerating legacy infrastructure upgrades.
Toward those goals, the NAM has proposed a series of policy recommendations:
- Adopt a pro-AI regulatory approach given the growing number and variety of use cases in AI in manufacturing, which require an optimized regulatory environment.
- Develop the manufacturing workforce of the AI age by supporting training programs, career and technical education institutions and STEM education and immigration. According to the MLC’s report, 82% of manufacturers cite a lack of AI-ready skills as the top workforce challenge.
- Advance energy and permitting reform to support AI-related data center growth.
- Protect personal data by passing a comprehensive privacy law that preempts state laws, provides liability protections that prevent frivolous litigation and adopts a risk-based approach that enables innovation and AI.
- Support U.S. manufacturing of AI chips by executing funding agreements with chip manufacturers and renewing the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit.
- Incentivize U.S. AI innovation by passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that preserves pro-manufacturing tax policies.
“Artificial intelligence isn’t new to manufacturing. For years, manufacturers have been developing and deploying AI-driven technologies—machine vision, digital twins, robotics and more—to make shop floors smarter, supply chains stronger and workplaces safer,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said in a release. “The latest report from the MLC reinforces the need for modernized, agile, pro-manufacturing AI policy solutions, so that manufacturers can continue to innovate on shop floors across America.”
