By Jim Lynch, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Autodesk

Artificial intelligence is gaining traction in construction. According to Autodesk’s latest State of Design and Make Report, 66% of leaders believe AI will become essential to their businesses within the next two to three years.

With the rapid advances that we’re seeing, it’s unsurprising that some people envision droid bricklayers or AI assistants producing thousands of perfect designs a day. However, it’s crucial that the construction industry avoids automation for the sake of it. Advances in AI are helping tackle many of the industry’s longstanding issues, from low productivity to poor predictability, and the technology can create radical efficiency gains, from automated submittals to improving bulk data analysis.

AI tools can help construction teams reduce risk, spot potential errors much earlier in the process and improve everyday decision-making. And importantly, at a time when an estimated 40% of the construction workforce will retire by 2030, AI can alleviate the burden on the remaining employees by reducing nonoptimal work.

With the help of this technology, the industry may start to see greater adoption of industrialized construction: the convergence of our industry with the principles of manufacturing, which can overhaul both what we build and how. So, how is AI enhancing construction today and where will it create the most value in the future?

Unlocking The Power of Data

Currently, data remains a significantly underutilized resource in construction. Organizations may be generating a higher volume of data than ever before. However, according to analysis by Deloitte, 80% of global construction businesses today have beginner or emerging data capabilities, meaning limited use of data, strategy and skills.

AI can play a key role in analyzing, augmenting and automating construction information to ensure that decision- makers can quickly act on key insights and implement long-term improvements.

Faster and more accurate data entry is an excellent application. For example, Autodesk Construction Cloud features Specifications, a tool that automates the tedious manual process of preparing specifications by using machine learning to extract and section project requirements into relevant specification divisions within Autodesk Build and Autodesk Docs. This reduces time wasted sifting through data and empowers teams to quickly address discrepancies before they unravel into larger problems.

AI can also enable teams to gain more meaningful and timely insights from their data. Construction IQ, powered by Autodesk AI, automatically analyzes data stored on a project to provide greater visibility into project health and performance insights. By sifting through project data points, from issues to subcontractor assignments, the tool can highlight and prioritize risk factors daily.

With AI, project teams will have the insights to not only improve everyday decision-making but identify and mitigate risks far earlier in projects. AI can function as the support that teams need to gain insights from data regularly and effectively, saving time and improving outcomes with less effort.

Pursuing Better Outcomes

The potential of AI technology is illustrated by The Phoenix, a housing project working to develop 316 affordable and sustainable units in the San Francisco Bay Area. Using Autodesk AI tools, designers and builders worked together to rapidly explore a huge range of housing options that met complex project goals. Adding a floor to a building, nudging the structure’s position north or south, shifting a playground or greenspace from the edge of the development to the center: Each move impacts the project’s goals around cost, carbon and livability.

In the years ahead, AI tools for generative design will play a key role in enabling the architecture, engineering, construction and operations industry to meet increasingly complex construction requirements, like adapting to climate change or supporting population growth. New methods like industrialized construction allow buildings to become more like manufactured products rather than one-off projects.

The builders behind The Phoenix, Factory OS, are harnessing Autodesk’s cloud-based workflows to do exactly this. They use a rapid factory production process to build housing modules that can be trucked to project locations and assembled by crane.

With a focus on prefabrication, the innovative process removes the unpredictability of a traditional construction site, while the convergence of design, construction and manufacturing workflows dramatically accelerates the speed to completion. The Phoenix units will be erected in about two weeks whereas traditional processes typically take close to a year.

AI will enable continual improvements in industrialized construction, thanks to the higher volumes of data generated. The industry will have the insight to continually improve the process of construction and push the boundaries of what’s achievable.

Constructing with Intelligence

AI is already delivering benefits for forward-thinking firms, from reducing risk to improving day-to-day decision-making. A new Deloitte survey has found that data leaders in construction are seven times more likely to deploy AI and machine learning solutions—and can in turn expect a 50% increase in average profit growth rate each year compared with beginners.

In the years ahead, the technology will benefit from—and drive—the rise of industrialized construction. We hope to see AI supporting consistent, predictable and exceptional construction projects, which deliver meaningful societal outcomes in a leaner, cleaner way. And that is much more exciting than droid bricklayers.