AI can’t build a high-rise, but it can speed up the job

Meant as a sly swipe at the inflated hype around artificial intelligence, a billboard at a construction site in Antwerp, Belgium, in June read “Hey ChatGPT, finish this building.”

Artificial intelligence, the technology that powers chatbots like ChatGPT, won’t be assembling apartments or erecting stadiums anytime soon, but in construction – an industry stereotypically known for clipboards and Excel spreadsheets – the rapid embrace of the technology may change how quickly projects are finished.