Artificial intelligence has been at the centre of some alarming, if not apocalyptic, news stories of late. Brian Hills, CEO of The Data Lab, looks beyond the headlines at the potential impacts and risks of AI in the built environment and how we can promote responsible use
Artificial intelligence (AI) is all over the news just now, and it’s dividing opinion. It’s seen either as something with the power to enrich our lives or as the eventual cause of the apocalypse that will steal our jobs in the meantime.
When “the godfather of AI” Dr Geoffrey Hinton recently quit Google, he warned of the dangers posed by the technology and described AI tools – which he feels may soon be more intelligent than humans – as “quite scary”.
But the fearmongering doesn’t stop there.
“AI could kill off the human race!” screamed media headlines earlier this year, following testimony by an Oxford professor to the UK parliament’s Science, Innovation & Technology Committee.
A recent open letter, signed by dozens of senior tech leaders, also called for a pause on the further development of AI models until robust safeguards can be put in place.
All this media hype has heightened public awareness of AI like never before. Suddenly, everyone’s talking about it, often with concern.
But do these stories highlight a genuine cause for panic, or do we all just need to calm down?
AI in the built environment: Benefits vs risks
Well, if you look beyond the headlines, you’ll hear Dr Hinton say that in the shorter term, he believes AI will deliver many more benefits than risks. But he is quick to add that it’s the responsibility of governments to ensure it is developed “with a lot of thought into how to stop it going rogue”.
And to its credit, the UK government recently announced £100m of investment in a new AI taskforce, whose responsibilities include the development of safe and reliable AI models. In Scotland, this is also a focus for the government through the establishment of the Scottish AI Alliance and AI strategy.
Bill Gates also recently called AI the most important technological advance in decades, as fundamental as the creation of the internet or the mobile phone.
And I have no doubt that AI has the potential to automate very repetitive tasks, both at work and at home – making our lives easier, more efficient and perhaps more enjoyable.
The use of AI in the built environment is already improving the efficiency and sustainability of buildings through things like predictive maintenance, which uses data from building systems to identify potential problems before they even occur.
AI systems can also be used to optimise a building’s water and energy use or waste management. It can even help design buildings by helping architects and engineers to make more informed decisions about the best layout, materials and structural components to use.
We’ve worked directly with Grand Bequest, a proptech start-up company that has developed an AI platform to help solve the problem of vacant buildings.
They’d identified that many empty buildings remain that way because of the numerous difficulties that potential developers must overcome in order to revitalise them.
By using AI in the built environment to make the process easier and more accessible, they hope many beautiful old buildings can be given a new lease of life.
We are also supporting IRT Surveys, which uses thermal imaging data capture and analysis to help housing developers and associations identify which properties need to be retrofitted to make them more energy efficient.
A new AI solution that it has commissioned, which is being developed by Robert Gordon University, speeds up the image analysis process tenfold. This allows more properties to be assessed every day and its customers to understand the energy performance of their portfolios faster than ever.
Equally, on a construction site, AI can improve safety by analysing data from cameras or sensors to identify potential hazards and alert workers to act. AI-powered drones can even be used to survey a site or monitor construction progress.
The possibilities are endless, and very exciting.
But, as with any emerging technology, there is always the potential for unintended consequences; in the words of technology ethicist Stephanie Hare: “When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck.”
Promoting responsible use of AI in the built environment
To avoid sinking, we must educate both technologists and users in the built environment sector on maximising the benefits and minimising the harms of AI. If we continue to consider potential risks in how AI is designed and used, we can actively work to diminish them.
While we can’t predict the future of AI, we can create responsible and ethical legal frameworks to protect its reputation. This is something that the UK government is conscious of and seeking to tackle.
But legislation is historically slow to follow innovation, so researchers, engineers, governments, organisations and individuals must work together to promote responsible AI to ensure its impact on society is positive.
Ultimately, many people will only begin to trust AI and be fully convinced of its benefits once they can see successful examples in action. Early adopters of AI in the built environment sector could aid this process by sharing their learnings with others.
I’m confident mankind is safe for now – and being outsmarted by AI is certainly not inevitable. But if we believe in a world where AI adds value to our economy and society, it is everyone’s responsibility to step up, engage in debate, debunk the hype, and shape the future.
Brian Hills
CEO
The Data Lab
Tel: +44 (0) 131 651 4905
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