Agents at work

Transformation is never as seamless as it is often portrayed—especially with AI. In industries as critical as energy, chemicals, and manufacturing, progress depends less on algorithms than on trust, safety, investment, and people. Friction and setbacks are not failures but vital signals, revealing how work truly gets done and where meaningful change begins.

This book explores the shift from automation to autonomy, and from human judgment to intelligent, agentic systems, urging us to design technologies that are secure, explainable, and deeply human-centered.

Benefits of reading the book

By reading this book, you will gain insights into the real dynamics of AI-driven transformation, learning how to see inefficiencies as opportunities for improvement, understand the evolving role of knowledge workers, and appreciate the balance between human decision-making and intelligent agents. You’ll come away with a clearer vision of how to shape a future of work where technology amplifies human capability, strengthens trust, and drives safer, smarter outcomes in industries where the stakes could not be higher.

Inside, you'll discover:

• Introduction: Shaping the future of work.
• Chapter 1: From task automation to true autonomy. The evolution of AI in industry.
• Chapter 2: People and agents working together. Scalable intelligence for higher impact.
• Analyst view: Artificial intelligence models are developing capabilities that could transform industrial operations, including the energy sector.
• Chapter 3: Incorporated from the outset. Security, explainability and governance in Agentic AI.
• Chapter 4: The Industrial Work Surface. From Digital Twin to execution.
• Chapter 5: Digitally & AI-enabled CCS. Lessons from the oil & gas industry for scalable decarbonisation.