A year on from the release of ChatGPT-4, it is clear that the world has been turned upside down by Artificial Intelligence (AI). People just say 'AI' now as part of every day conversation and there is an expectation that we all know what it means and how it will work in each of our industries. But keeping up to date with the rapid progress of AI in the last few years, with new news articles seemingly every day is not for us all and understandable in circumstances where our UK construction companies are currently grappling with various more pressing issues, including the largest new piece of legislation to impact the industry for generations, in the form of the Building Safety Act.
The challenge we face is that, whilst it is accepted AI is all-encompassing and highly pervasive, are those of us in the construction industry, forever plagued by criticisms that we are slow to innovate and inefficient, equipped with the tools to make this digital metamorphosis part of our everyday work?
So in an attempt to get you all caught up and knowledgeable-sounding within the confines of my word count, this article will look at:
- what is AI; and
- how the lawyers see it playing out in the construction industry.
Welcome to a beginner's guide to AI in the construction industry.
So what are we talking about here?
At its core, AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines. AI systems learn from available and historic data, recognising patterns and making decisions with limited need for human intervention. You may have that soundbite for free.
The argument goes that whilst it is true we as an industry get a lot of criticism (some of which is warranted), the UK construction industry is, at its heart, dynamic, entrepreneurial, solutions-driven and home to an abundance of experience and we genuinely are in a position to benefit from the technological renaissance ushered in by AI becoming more accessible and open-sourced. Here's some of the ways a lawyer sees this playing out:
Streamlining surveying
AI powered algorithms can supplement and support the capabilities of a human surveyor by streamlining the inspection process, allowing defects to be identified, notified and registered with extreme precision. An AI can analyse and process huge amounts of drawing and specification information, identifying discrepancies or potential defects before these crystallise into expensive setbacks. An AI system can identify divergences from statutory requirements as and when new legislation is implemented, as well as the point in time such divergence arose for the purposes of calculating any additional time/cost consequences for any required compliance.
Dealing with delays
Through comparing sequencing and programmes, resource allocations and external factors, AI systems can help identify factors behind delays and facilitate swift resolution, mitigating losses and enhancing project efficiency.
Controlling the critical path
The critical path is the sacred timeline of a project. AI-driven algorithms can revolutionise critical path monitoring by using real-time data to identify bottlenecks, forecast potential delays and optimise resourcing. I see this as a genuinely useful capability to assist project managers and give them actionable and insightful information and augmented decision making abilities.
Moment of self reflection
But how, I hear you ask, could someone from the world's second oldest profession be in a position to lecture me about AI? Well we ourselves are testing the water with the possibilities of adopting AI in the work we do as construction lawyers, looking at ways it might help us to (1) manage and allocate risk on a construction project, (2) advise on procurement and structuring and crucially, (3) document the commercial agreement between the players on a project. We already implement AI and its document automation capabilities in the production of some simple documents, such as collateral warranties – this is being extended to building contracts, letters of intent and other ancillary construction documents. We can use AI-backed systems to assist in the review of large numbers of construction documents for due diligence purposes and to streamline our reporting to our clients, addressing those issues which specific clients are most commercially concerned with all through the use of this shiny new technology. If dusty lawyers can do it so can we all!
Just as with lawyers, it is fair to say that AI is not yet at the point where it is a substitute for the excellent wealth of project experience and value surveyors, designers, project managers and others in the industry contribute and a human touch is still absolutely crucial. But as the world embarks on this new digital odyssey, embracing the possibly transformative potential of AI seems imperative to ensuring the construction industry keeps up. Not least as we continuously strive to maintain our commitment to innovation, collaboration and sustainability in our projects and as we reconfirm our commitment to health and safety on our developments and the buildings we deliver.
