Editor's Note: In Issue 13

Tech companies are pouring money into generative AI technology, and utilities are laying plans to keep up with the energy demands of this technology, which is expected to transform, well, everything. AI is everywhere in the headlines. But investors are trying to get behind the hype and question expenditures versus benefits. AI is very expensive, not to mention its energy appetite. Goldman Sachs examines the question of AI ROI in an investment paper whose title may give some pause: Generative AI: Too Much Spend, Too Little Benefit? In it, experts from various sectors—technology, investing, economics and energy—clash in their views on generative AI's cost/benefit analysis.

While the scale of that discussion is very broad, AI is finding practical applications in discrete ways within construction. For example, check out the latest eBook AI-Powered Construction Management - Part 1: Chapter 3 to learn how AI can automate the creation of RASCI Matrices.

Also this week, see a comparison of two leading generative AI engines, ChatGPT-4o and Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 "Sonnet," applied to safety procedure writing, causation evaluation and vision capabilities (identifying safety issues from visual data). Find out which of these our intrepid generative AI pioneer David Dunham thinks has the edge.

Next, a review of relevant literature shows AI's potential for substantial impact on predictive maintenance, safety monitoring, resource optimization and quality control in construction. Coincidentally AI adoption is on the rise despite barriers in the construction industry, never mind the questions explored by Goldman Sachs.

Ponderable

Today, billions of mobile devices with extraordinary power are uniting with advancements in robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and so much more. – Steve Mollenkopf

Rob Rogers, Managing Editor

Copyright 2024 - WPL Publishing Company, Inc.

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