Here is How AI is Transforming the Construction Industry

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence has become an integral part of every life, every industry, and every field out there. The progression of technology over the past few decades has made it into a race where it’s not about whether you’re investing in AI or not; it’s now about how much you’re investing in it. The construction industry is no exception to this development; AI has traveled here as well and is continuing to make a well-noticeable impact on how the industry functions. But what exactly is the role that Artificial Intelligence plays in construction? How is it changing things for the better? And how is it bringing something that no other technology has brought till now? Let’s take a look!

Resistance to change - recurring challenges

The construction industry has faced numerous problems to date that emerge solely from it being digitized to a minimal extent. Whether due to a lack of attention or the arduous nature of the tasks in the sector, this specific industry hasn’t adopted technology as eagerly as others. The resistance to technological change has resulted in organizational inefficiency, lack of productivity, unsafe performances, and project delays. But now, things are changing. Artificial Intelligence, specifically, along with its sub-fields, is shifting many dynamics within the construction sector, bringing forth a myriad of new opportunities for all stakeholders involved.

How is AI solving the problem?

Let’s take a look at everything that the addition of AI has achieved in the building world. Significant contributions have been noticed in all phases of a construction project, such as service processes, industry productivity, and business operations. By enhancing automation, AI has been able to provide a better alternative to the conventional approaches that had been in use until this point. Complex problems related to real-world issues have been tackled smoothly using the sub-fields of AI, such as machine learning, robotics, natural language processing, or computer vision, among others. The application of advanced AI techniques is giving way to data-driven technologies that are aimed at increasing efficiency as well as productivity for the industries involved.

Why does AI offer such a massive potential for the construction industry?

We have noticed the way that the construction industry has escaped a technological revolution till now, so why do we think undergoing one can actually benefit it? One of the biggest reasons is the sheer amount of data that one will come across when they’re a part of any construction or real estate industry. Variable, complex, massive, widespread data that can work wonders if put to use in the right way. Data is nothing if left as it is and everything if you use it to drive decisions; this is where AI comes in. Taking upon piles and piles of data, AI technologies will transform it into usable piles of information that will be able to offer much valuable decisions in the construction landscape. The data is already there; all that’s left is the processing, analysis, and evaluation of it, and that’s what Artificial Intelligence will do for us.

Specific advantages

I think there is almost a widespread understanding of the fact that the adoption of AI techniques in the field of construction will only be beneficial for the industry, but what are the specific reasons for it being so? First and foremost, the cost-reduction is the first impact to consider. Once AI is employed in our processes, it will begin to identify areas of inefficiency and unproductivity. Once these two variables are improved, lesser costs will follow themselves. Consider robots: Their skills can be used to deploy them to work on repetitive and tedious tasks and in hazardous areas. Once the common everyday tasks are shifted from being manual to being a robot’s responsibility, the team itself can focus on other tasks that would demand a higher level of skill. Knowledge-based systems can be used to store magnanimous amounts of data and process them to come up with valuable and insightful decisions that will help the industry. By storing learned experiences, risks could be predicted and mitigated in the near future, allowing AI to play a role in improving not just the productivity but the safety of the people as well.

AI in the Pakistani Construction Industry

AI has been quite the buzzword in the Pakistani discourse for a while, with people associating many ideas with it. However, currently, almost all of the AI-relevant technologies that one may witness in Pakistan are those adopted and brought in from international sources. Indigenous production of AI technologies is yet to be detected, especially in an industry like construction. Some countries have already adopted AI-specific frameworks under which they’re facilitating research and R&D programs in AI to further technological advancements and economic growth. Pakistan is yet to reach that point. However, it would suffice to say that the technological potential in Pakistan can be denied by none. We have some of the brightest minds in the world residing here, coming up with innovative ideas every day. Who knows what barriers we would break if conversations on AI became a part of our mainstream agenda and started being focused on as vigorously as other digital elements? Recent governmental policies in the past few years have shown a shift towards technology and acceptance of its essentiality for our state's progress. We still have a long way to go but here’s to hoping that in the coming years, we can expect AI-specific technologies to come up from our own people, specifically in the construction industry.

Final Words

The field of Artificial Intelligence has just started taking off, and all eyes are already glued in anticipation to witness everything else that these technologies will be able to achieve. This is something that we’ll get a clearer picture of as time passes, but one thing’s for sure: The construction industry currently has a huge potential to adopt technology that helps improve its operations as well as service delivery. With sub-fields of AI, such as machine learning, we can hope to recover insight that may surpass even human abilities and decision-making simply due to its advanced data-processing capabilities. At the end of the day, the end goal of Artificial Intelligence is not just to showcase a digital transformation but to enable those associated with the construction industry to be able to perform their jobs in a better way and acquire better results from the same data. The entire world has been moving towards embracing technology and the benefits it brings along with it. Pakistan must do the same if it wishes to stay relevant in the fast-paced world of modern technology, of which AI is just one part.