b'PRESIDENTS MESSAGEabout when or by how much, which, from whereI sit, makes the economic outlook murkyand unpredictable.Enough about the market. Lets talk aboutemerging trends.The construction industry has historically been characterized as slow to evolve. Happily, that misunderstood stereotype is a thing of the past, ER and the new normal is better characterized by E C unprecedented transformation. This new era of T rapid change is driven by innovative technologies, F R IO sustainable practices and evolving marketAWARD WINNING BUILDING REVITALIZATIONN dynamics. That is theoretically good news. Advances OO in technology, the integration of IoT devices,WATERWORKSFC drones, AI-powered BIM, augmented reality and M ANAD virtual reality are bringing us powerful new tools to I A Senhance project oversight and improve productivity. M LAR The bad news, however, is that many of theseBRINGING VISIONA GESTpowerful new tools are complicated and expensive. G I SUG As a result, separating the wheat from the chaff to N ARR TO LIFEensure we make good decisions about which tools A EFIN to use and how they should be deployed is arguably T ERY ,more confusing than our murky market forecast.I HAO MIL ON, ONTN T Put simply, construction industry practitioners dontT know which of these powerful new tools to trust. O ARIO R Case in point: AI is unquestionably a game changer. EA IL TY That said, the New York Times ran a story in June 2023 about a lawyer who relied on ChatGPT to prepare a motion. When he later discovered the motion was full of made-up case law, he was forced FABRICATION OF COMPLEX to admit that he found it incomprehensible that such a familiar chatbot could lead him so far astray. EREF CT Closer to home, a B.C. lawyer was reprimandedSTEEL STRUCTURESR IONAWARD WINNING BUILDING REVITALIZATIONO O by a Supreme Court judge for including two AIWATERWORKSF CMI ANADAS L hallucinations in an application he filed last M A ARGEST S December. Lawyers, on average, are clever people, G UGAR and Chat GPT is a very common AI tool that a greatBRINGING VISIONINA REFINE many of us use every day. What does that tell usTO LIFETIONRY , HAMILTON, ONT about the danger of making bad choices? Sadly, the T alternative is worse. Choosing not to evolve is the O REALITY ARIO real game changer. In closing, suffice to say the way forward is clearlyFABRICATION OF COMPLEX uncertain. And yes, I realize clearly uncertain is an oxymoron. Somehow, under the circumstances, mySTEEL STRUCTURES72 Commercial Rd. Bolton, Ontariochoice of words seems appropriate. LOL.Cheers and Happy Holidays. L7E 1K4 Canada 72 Commercial Rd. Bolton, OntarioL7E 1K4 CanadaJohn Mollenhauer TCA President & CEOBUILDERSDIGEST Quarter 320247'