Bridging the talent gap: harnessing AI to transform the construction industry

Like almost every other industry, artificial intelligence stands poised to transform the way the built environment operates. But while generative AI tools like ChatGPT are a reasonably novel addition, other forms of the technology have been making major impacts in the construction sector for some time.

AI tools are already helping industry professionals with many use cases across the lifecycle of a project or asset – improving design, planning, safety, quality, sustainability, and productivity as a whole. The tech can handle the more monotonous tasks, allowing us to be more productive and creative with how we work.

Autodesk’s recent State of Design & Make Report found that AI is shaping business transformation across industries as trust in the technology grows, with almost two-thirds (61%) of construction leaders surveyed saying they are approaching or have achieved their goal of incorporating AI into their operations. Businesses are already using it to increase productivity and automate work, and leaders predict that generative AI will help people make critical design decisions about physical products, buildings, and digital assets in the next few years.  

AI is a key driver of digital transformation across AECO and in parallel, enables digital acceleration for companies to continually evolve and adapt to achieve their desired business outcomes.

I’m particularly excited about the way AI can level the playing field. It has the potential to bring construction’s tech capabilities up to speed with other, more digitally native industries, and also gives smaller firms access to the same game-changing tools as their heavyweight counterparts. A world where companies…