AI in Construction – What is it Good For?

October 14, 2024

AI in Construction
Futurist Jim Carroll says AI is going to have a big impact, but it’s more about the idea of working smarter – not harder. The key issue? People might not lose their jobs to AI, but they may lose their jobs to someone more effective at learning how to use AI as an effective tool that enhances their capabilities. CISCO photo

AI in Construction

DES PLAINES – AI is on the brink of, well, everything. Headlines of the International Longshoremen’s Association strike in early October has members of that Union concerned what port automation means for their jobs. Futurist Jim Carroll likes to call the AI trend – like every trend, “both an existential threat and a transformative opportunity at the same moment in time.”

Carroll made his remarks at an AI in Construction conference Oct. 9 at the Rivers Casino Des Plaines, which was sponsored and hosted by the Mid-America Regional Bargaining Association, Great Lakes Construction Association, Midwest Wall & Ceiling Contractors Association, Chicagoland AGC, the Mason Contractors Association of Greater Chicago, and the Underground Contractors Association. The event gave Carroll’s take on what the true impact AI will have in the Union construction industry, jobs and the workforce.

Experts may be quick to predict AI will take over manual work, and robots will replace the construction workforce, but Carroll said this talk is nothing new. “We have gone through decades of warnings about automation, but they haven’t entirely materialized,” he stressed. He was also quick to remind the audience that automation is a catalyst for the creation of new jobs and new fields. “What we are seeing and will continue to see, is new opportunities emerging to meet technological advances,” Carroll explained. “AI is a tool that can make skilled workers more effective.”

One just has to look to the use of AI in pre-construction, BIM acceleration and drone use, to see benefits. Carroll’s presentation seemed to quash anxieties and spur motivation for individuals to embrace some form of AI.

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