How can AI influence a manual assembly shop floor?

AI has caught the imagination of millions of people across the planet. Thus, there is a lot of hype. There is also a lot of hope, and along with it come some expectations, that will at least, for the foreseeable future, be termed unreasonable. This in turn leads some people to think that unless they have a huge factory, spinning out thousands of products on an unending cycle, AI may be the equivalent of a nuclear weapon charged to engage in pest control. This is only a myth.