Analysis of the use of artificial intelligence in the management of Industry 4.0 projects. The perspective of Polish industry

Artificial Intelligence (AI) supports project management in industry projects increasingly more often. The article documents research results regarding the use of AI in Industry 4.0 projects. The aim of the article is to define the range of AI use in Industry 4.0 projects throughout their entire life cycle and to indentify the main stages of AI development in project management. Additionally, the article indicates the main barriers to AI use in project management identified in the studied projects. In order to identify and systemise the range of AI use, the Conceptual Framework of Using AI in Project Management presented in literature is applied. Research results indicate that we are in the early stages of AI use in projects. The studied projects use AI mainly in project administration, i.e. to complete the following tasks: simple automation of routine activities, support, and, to a very limited extent, in the area of project management, i.e. in identifying anomalies and predicting the phenomena where the anomalies will occur. The research uses the case study method, where four projects were studied: an ERP system upgrade, an implementation of an IT system supporting high-bay warehouse management, an implementation of an IoT as a data-collection sensor platform and an E-learning platform implementation. The study was conducted between 2019 and 2021, and covered the entire project life cycle, including its three stages, i.e. preparation, implementation and operation.