The benefits of AI in construction: A vital cog in the industry’s future

While still in its infancy, AI is poised to bring new efficiencies and innovations to construction. Let’s take a deeper look at where we stand

Technology and politics have transformed the construction industry over the last two decades. We’ve had the coming of smart phones and the ability to send photos to and from site, political decisions altering our supply of workers, wars affecting material costs, and plenty of other diversions besides.

Fairly new to the party is AI. And while still in its infancy, AI is poised to bring new efficiencies and innovations to construction. Let’s take a deeper look at where we stand.

The Current State of AI in Construction

Some think the sector needs a bit of a wakeup call. Dr Claire Morris, BridgeAI innovation lead has said that “construction has been identified by the UK government as one of the sectors low in terms of AI maturity but high in growth potential”.

Kate Currie, business development executive at the Science & Technology Facilities Council Hartree Centre (a group engaged with developing digital technologies for UK productivity) expanded on this: “We’ve seen how AI has revolutionised other industries. I think the key thing here is that construction isn’t left behind. There’s some really exciting applications that can be used, whether in health and safety, improved process management, more-effective resourcing, and planning projects.”