From automation to autonomization: New book chapter sheds light on the transformation brought about by enterprise AI
A new book chapter by Christian Janiesch, together with Marek Kowalkiewicz and Michael Rosemann from the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, sheds light on the profound change brought about by artificial intelligence in companies. Under the title "The Rise of Enterprise Autonomization", the research team describes how AI agents will transform traditional, rule-based automation into adaptive, goal-oriented enterprise systems.
The chapter uses international case studies - for example at JPMorgan Chase, General Electric and Walmart - to argue how autonomous systems can optimize processes independently and enable new business models. The article also presents a three-phase implementation model ("Deploy - Reshape - Invent") and emphasizes the importance of human expertise in combination with technological innovation.
"Successful corporate autonomization requires investment in technology and people," says Janiesch. "Only when human responsibility and AI autonomy reinforce each other can truly transformative results be achieved."
The chapter appears in the anthology Enterprise AI (Springer, 2025) and underlines the leading role of the Chair of Enterprise Computing in research on intelligent enterprise systems.