From technological development to social advance: A review of Industry 4.0 through machine learning

•This work attempts to understand and clarify industry 4.0.•We analyze 660 journal papers and 3901 news articles through unsupervised machine learning.•We identify 31 research and application issues related to industry 4.0.•We categorize the 31 issues into infrastructure development; artificial intelligence development; system and process optimization; industrial innovation; and social change.•Our work is unique in using machine learning for the comprehensive and reliable review. Industry 4.0 has attracted considerable interest from firms, governments, and individuals as the new concept of future computer, industrial, and social systems. However, the concept has yet to be fully explored in the scientific literature. Given the topic's broad scope, this work attempts to understand and clarify Industry 4.0 by analyzing 660 journal papers and 3,901 news articles through text mining with unsupervised machine learning algorithms. Based on the results, this work identifies 31 research and application issues related to Industry 4.0. These issues are categorized and described within a five-level hierarchy: 1) infrastructure development for connection, 2) artificial intelligence development for data-driven decision making, 3) system and process optimization, 4) industrial innovation, and 5) social advance. Further, a framework for convergence in Industry 4.0 is proposed, featuring six dimensions: connection, collection, communication, computation, control, and creation. The research outcomes are consistent with and complementary to existing relevant discussion and debate on Industry 4.0, which validates the utility and efficiency of the data-driven approach of this work to support experts’ insights on Industry 4.0. This work helps establish a common ground for understanding Industry 4.0 across multiple disciplinary perspectives, enabling further research and development for industrial innovation and social advance.