b'CONSTRUCTION PRIORITIES: TECHNOLOGYHOW SMART ISARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ANYWAY? By Sarah B. HoodFOR CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS, GENERATIVE AI IS BOTH AN ASSET AND A LIABILITYIN EARLY DECEMBER, the worldNonetheless, AI is already at work onGenerative AI is beginning to show its applauded as Professor Geofreyjob sites and in back offices: its literallyworth in the construction field with Hinton of the University of Toronto andat our fingertips whenever we choose aproducts from firms like Document Professor John Hopfield of Princetonsuggested autocomplete while texting.Crunch, based in Atlanta, and Torontos received the 2024 Nobel Prize in PhysicsBut the biggest boom of recent monthsown Provision Software Corporation, for their research in machine learning.has been the rapid advance and widewhose tool for Automated Risk Known as the godfather of AI, Hintonacceptance of generative AI, whichIdentification for Complex Construction has been a key figure in artificial neuralcreates content such as text, images,Contracts has won top prize in this years networks, the technology that enablescode or sounds. Innovative Products Awards. Increasingly, artificial intelligence (AI) to learn how toAI will be helpful in eliminating risks solve complex problems. At the awardIn particular, there has been a lot ofand errors from complex construction ceremony in Sweden, he warned that,excitement (and uncertainty) aboutdocuments, and builders should move although AI offers enormous benefits, itthe subset of generative AI known asahead into this new territory,comes with many drawbacks. large language models (LLMs), whichbut carefully.work specifically with language. Large Hinton cited the potential misuselanguage models underly productsAI has overwhelming power, and you of AI for malign purposes, such aslike ChatGPT and Googles Bard, andcant afford not to embrace technology, surveillance, cyber-crime and even germthey are a godsend to anyone whobut proceed with caution, says TCA warfare, as well as the existential threatneeds to draft a document quickly,president and CEO John Mollenhauer. that will arise when we create digitalfrom the student with an overdue essayDespite the need to be careful, its beings that are more intelligent thanassignment to the conference presentera hugely powerful tool. AI-powered ourselves, saying that we have no ideawho wants to turn a statistical table intosoftware is enormously beneficial whether we can stay in control. a text summary. in construction. That sounds like a BUILDERSDIGEST Quarter 4202421'