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CAREERTIP: Construction Professionals should start treating AI like a new colleague

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Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t going away and construction professionals need to embrace it and start working with it as if it were a new colleague. Across all industries, including construction, the adoption of AI is rapidly gaining momentum. This is because technology has finally advanced to the point where it can handle the complex and unstructured data involved in construction projects. Experts predict that AI will continue to develop into what they call "composite AI." Construction professionals, however, have some concerns about adopting AI. These concerns include: Regulatory Framework: Construction professionals must ensure that they comply with all applicable laws and regulations. They must also protect themselves, as AI can be programmed with specific guidelines to produce desired outputs. Ethics : There are important legal and ethical issues to consider when using AI. For example, who is liable if something goes wrong? Who is responsible if a disaster occurs as
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FACTS: Here is why the infrastructure sector is more open to corruption risk than other sectors..

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According to OECD research, 15 percent of international bribery cases occurred in the construction sector. We look at the reasons why this industry is more open to corruption than any other industry. 


The very nature of large infrastructure projects – such as roads, railways and social housing projects – leave them more open to corruption risks than other sectors here is why:
  • The scale of infrastructure projects is huge. The cost of building dams, roads, airports and railways can be tens of billions of dollars, making it easier to conceal bribes and inflate costs.
  • No two projects are the same, making it difficult to compare and easy to inflate costs.
  • Multiple approvals, licenses and permits are required throughout a project’s lifecycle, creating opportunities for bribery.
  • Poor procurement processes can encourage collusion among companies bidding for contracts.
  • Materials and quality of work are often hidden, e.g. steel is covered in concrete, brickwork is covered with plaster, and cables and pipes enclosed in service ducts. This makes it easy for bribes to be paid to certify or approve defective or non-existent work.

Corruption on large infrastructure projects can lead to skyrocketing costs, and projects that either do not fully meet the needs of the community, or even cause harm to communities. Those who suffer most are those who are most dependent on public goods and services – often the poorest and most marginalized people. Because women represent a higher share of the world’s poor, women can be disproportionately affected.

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