What’s next for factory work? Nortal’s Jukka Kostiainen on Finnish morning tv-show Huomenta Suomi

Nortal Finland's Value Architect and industry expert Jukka Kostiainen joined Finnish morning show Huomenta Suomi on MTV3 together with Aapo Stenhammar from Labore to discuss the future of manufacturing - covering automation, the evolving role of factory workers, and the cultural shifts shaping the industry.

The discussion explored whether Finland is moving towards fully automated “dark factories,” and which aspects of manufacturing can realistically be automated. Kostiainen highlighted that while automation will expand, particularly in tackling bottlenecks, complete automation isn’t feasible across all industries. They emphasized that factory workers will remain vital to Finland’s industrial future, though their roles will shift toward expert-driven tasks such as programming, supervising, and applying new technologies to make work more efficient.

Beyond the factory floor, the discussion also emphasized AI’s wider impact. Unlike past technological shifts, AI will profoundly reshape knowledge work; eliminating routine tasks while creating new opportunities and redefining how expertise is used across industries.

Looking ahead to the 2030s, Kostiainen envisions that factories are similar to today's, but become highly dynamic, data-driven, and transparent, with shared access to information, enabling continuous collabroation and improvement.  

Watch the interview on MTV’s Huomenta Suomi (in Finnish).