From Industry 5.0 to Forestry 5.0: Bridging the gap with Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence

Recent technological innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have successfully revolutionized many industrial processes, enhancing productivity and sustainability, under the paradigm of Industry 5.0. It offers opportunities for the forestry sector such as predictive analytics, automation, and precision management, which could transform traditional forest operations into smart, effective, and sustainable practices. The paper sets forth to outline the evolution from Industry 5.0 and its promising transition into Forestry 5.0. The purpose is to elucidate the status of these developments, identify enabling technologies, particularly AI, and uncover the challenges hindering the efficient adoption of these techniques in forestry by presenting a framework.

However, the gap between potential and practical implementation is primarily due to logistical, infrastructural, and environmental challenges unique to the forestry sector. The solution lies in Human-Centered AI, which, unlike the Industry 4.0 paradigm, aims to integrate humans into the loop rather than replace them, thereby fostering safe, secure, and trustworthy Human-AI interactions.

The paper concludes by highlighting the need for Human-Centered AI development for the successful transition to Forestry 5.0 - where the goal is to support the human workers rather than substituting them. A multidisciplinary approach involving technologists, ecologists, policymakers, and forestry practitioners is essential to navigate these challenges, leading to a sustainable and technologically advanced future for the forestry sector. In this transformation, our focus remains on ensuring a balance between increased productivity, nature conservation and social licence, worker safety and satisfaction.