Role of Artificial Intelligence in Circular Manufacturing: A Systematic Literature Review

Circular Economy (CE) empowers firms (micro -level), network of firms (meso-level), cities, regions and nations (macro -level) sustainability. CE potentialities in making regenerate resources are even greater if supported by technologies, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is gaining momentum in this regard. The extant literature presents a limited investigation of the exploitable synergies among CE and AI at the different scales of CE adoption in manufacturing, also named Circular Manufacturing (CM). Indeed, this paper entails a systematic literature review to investigate the state-of-the-art in this domain proposing future research opportunities. Among the findings, AI exploitation is advanced at micro -level, whilst the meso-level, macro -level, and the synergies among the three levels require further exploration. Copyright (C) 2021 The Authors.

Automated summary

Circular Economy (CE) can enhance sustainability for firms, cities, and nations, and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in this field is growing. Research shows that AI is more advanced at the micro-level in manufacturing, while further exploration is needed for the meso-level, macro-level, and synergies among the three levels.