Assessing the Efficacy of Al in Transforming Risk Management in the AEC Industry

In South Asia, the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector has experienced significant growth, achieving a 6.2% increase between 2019 and 2023. Despite these advancements, the industry continues to face persistent risks such as frequent project delays and quality deficiencies. Amidst these issues, there is a strong interest in adopting artificial intelligence (Al) among construction firms, with 92% expressing a desire to implement Al technologies. However, integrating Al into existing infrastructures presents major challenges. Nonetheless, the potential for growth in the Al market is substantial, projected to rise from $530 million in 2023 to $27.27 billion by 2031, indicating a trend towards broader Al adoption within the sector. Given the complexity and unpredictability of AEC projects, there is an urgent need for enhanced risk management processes. While traditional frameworks like ISO 31000:2015 offer valuable guidelines, they often fall short in addressing the dynamic nature of AEC projects. As a result, AEC stakeholders are increasingly recognising the necessity for a more comprehensive approach to risk assessment that can accommodate both foreseeable and unforeseeable risks. To this end, the aim of this research is to investigate the efficacy of Al tools in enhancing the risk management processes within the AEC industry. The methodology included a review of existing risk-based Al literature, followed by a comparative case study that evaluates traditional risk management processes against the outputs from Al tools such as Jeda AI O and Gemini@. The findings of this research indicated that Al tools significantly enhance risk identification and qualitative-based risk analysis and response. However, these tools exhibit limitations when applied to quantitative based risk analysis. The observed inconsistencies in data analysis indicate that although Al can automate and refine certain aspects of risk assessment, human oversight remains crucial, emphasising the necessity for a balanced integration of Al tools and human expertise to ensure effective management of risk.