By Allison Scott, Director, Customer Experience & Industry Advocacy, Autodesk
Allison Scott
-
AI brings risk and human interactions to the forefront
The conversation of AI in construction has obviously heated up. Where not too long ago we were talking about data analytics as the next frontier, and BIM before that, now the industry is hot on more automation. The opportunity for AI to impact construction is vast, especially as a seasoned workforce with deep institutional knowledge retires and an emerging workforce needs to augment their experience with assistive technology. However, major risks such as inaccurate decision-making can have ripple effects to people and projects if firms don’t put good guardrails in place. We will start to see more firms take on the challenge of better data hygiene and governance models that inform how AI is leveraged. Insurance companies and those in the legal profession will also start ramping up on the implications for AI in construction, especially as regulation such as the UK Safety Act enforces a “golden thread of data” that pushes more collaboration and data management. Technology companies serving AEC will accelerate ML/AI capabilities to both legacy technologies and new, and a fresh wave of startups will jump on the train. However, as AI permeates every tool, even in our day-to-day lives, we’ll see that human interactions and customer service will become a premium. This is a challenge for our industry that still relies on people to solve problems that, in most cases, AI is not primed for yet. Construction firms should ensure they’re developing strong relationships with technology partners to make sure their voices are heard on what real-world problems AI can help solve, and how.
