Towards a unification of measurement, AI, quality and sustainability: Foundations and principles

Measurement, artificial intelligence (AI), quality, and sustainability are traditionally treated as distinct domains. To underpin and advance the science and technological developments, it is important and beneficial to develop a principled unifying framework for these fields. This paper first examines the deep connections of the concepts, models and mathematical characterisations of measurement, AI, quality and sustainability, and then proposes three foundational principles, formulated as three Laws to guide the integration of these domains, including Law of Oneness, Law of Dual Processes and Law of Measurement and Control Duality. These principles further lead to a generalised communication model supporting the unification of the four domains. They together will facilitate the advancement of the fields of measurement, AI, quality and sustainability, and underpin the development of the core science and technologies of Industry 4.0 and future Industry 4.0+.