The New York Times on AI in AEC
The New York Times has published an article on how AI can help address challenges the AEC industry. You may recognize some of the featured people and companies from their appearances on the TRXL podcast. Read to the end for related episodes.
While I don't think any of the information given in the article will surprise this audience, it does paint a picture for the readers of the New York Times that our industry has some major problems, which of course it does. The author rehashes many of the tropes heard in AEC/tech conference presentations but also shares some insight in how a few companies are showing they are proving to be the early adopters in this AI and robotics race.
Patrick Sisson:
Developers are embracing artificial intelligence tools like drones, cameras, apps and robots, which can reduce the timelines and waste that have made construction increasingly costly.
Even though there is waste throughout the design and build process, large contractors are betting big on technology for good reasons.
Suffolk, a large construction firm in Boston, invested $110 million to fund construction start-ups, and it has a team of 30 data analysts collecting and scrutinizing information from job sites.
It is interesting that the focus of the article is very much on the construction side. I assume this is because of the perception that the actual building of the project is where most of the waste occurs, and also because of the very real labor shortages.
“We have zero unemployment in the industry; technology is just going to help existing workers do more,” said John Fish, chairman and chief executive of Suffolk. “A.I. is just going to replace the companies that don’t use A.I.”
Read the full article here.
Related TRXL podcast episodes:
- 059: ‘Fundamentally Changing the Equation‘, with Brian Ringley
- 117: ‘Every Day Counts’, with Tessa Lau
