AI Is Quietly Taking Over Factories, Insurance Desks, and Even Phone Calls

Japan will use industrial machinery to gather physical data for artificial intelligence, a move aimed at strengthening the country's robotics and manufacturing sectors [246036]. The plan focuses on "physical AI" — artificial intelligence that learns from real-world movement and touch, not just text or images. Machines on factory floors will collect that data as they work. Japan's manufacturers see this as a way to stay competitive as the country faces a shrinking workforce.

The shift is part of a broader trend of AI moving from simple monitoring into the core of industrial and business operations. At the Fortune Leaders Forum 2026 in Macau, Black Lake Technologies Founder and CEO Yuxiang Zhou said artificial intelligence is moving into the decision layer of manufacturing [250403]. He explained that AI is no longer just a tool for monitoring machines or collecting data — it is now helping factories make real decisions on the production floor, including scheduling, quality control, and resource use.

Swiss sportswear brand On, backed by football star Kylian Mbappé, is building automated shoe factories and says it wants to bring Apple-style discipline to its manufacturing [250885]. Most athletic shoes are still assembled by hand in countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia. On plans to change that by using robots to do more of the work, aiming to make shoes faster, cheaper, and more consistent. The company has not said exactly when the robot factories will open or how many jobs they will affect.

The insurance industry is also handing more work to machines. Sumitomo Life, a major Japanese insurer, will use artificial intelligence to write custom insurance contracts, replacing a process that until now required human agents to draft terms by hand [250862]. The company says the technology will cut the time needed to prepare a contract and reduce errors.

Zurich Insurance Group will expand its use of Radar software worldwide, widening a deal with analytics firm WTW [246447]. The software helps insurers handle claims faster by automating parts of the process. The original agreement covered Zurich's operations in one market; the new deal covers its global business.

Investment is flowing into the infrastructure behind these systems. Nippon Life Insurance plans to provide about $13 billion in financing for data centers, mainly in the United States [246047]. The move reflects growing demand for data centers as artificial intelligence and cloud computing increase the need for such facilities.

Other companies are positioning themselves for the same wave. Beacon Software announced it has acquired Haize Labs to build AI tools for the "real economy" — the parts of the economy that make and move physical goods, such as manufacturing, logistics, and agriculture [245656]. Google is also testing a feature that lets its Gemini AI make phone calls to businesses on users' behalf, launching first for Pixel 11 owners in the United States who pay for a Gemini subscription [249794].