AI’s Ascendency

Is AI the Most Important Technology of Our Lifetime?

Author

James Garner
June 03, 2024

Overcoming Key Barriers to AI Adoption in Organisations

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing industries, yet many organisations face significant barriers to its effective adoption. Here are five key obstacles and strategies to overcome them:

  1. Leadership and Cultural Resistance: Executives often hesitate to abandon traditional practices, and an innovation-resistant culture can impede AI initiatives. Leaders must adopt a forward-thinking mindset and foster a culture that values experimentation. Exposure to successful AI implementations can inspire change and promote AI adoption.

  2. Fear and Lack of Understanding: AI's perceived complexity and fears of job displacement create resistance. To counter this, organisations should foster transparency and educate employees on AI’s benefits. Workshops and seminars can demystify AI, building confidence in its practical applications.

  3. Data and Integration Challenges: AI systems require high-quality data, but many organisations struggle with data quality and integration with legacy systems. Establishing robust data governance, implementing stringent data quality controls, and using APIs for smoother integration are crucial steps.

  4. Skills Shortage: The demand for AI skills often exceeds supply. Companies can develop in-house training programs, partner with academic institutions, and outsource AI functions to access necessary expertise and prevent project delays.

  5. Strategic and Ethical Considerations: A coherent AI strategy is essential, alongside addressing ethical and legal challenges like privacy and decision-making biases. Developing a clear strategic plan and adhering to stringent AI ethics policies can prevent legal and reputational risks, ensuring responsible AI adoption.

By tackling these obstacles with thoughtful strategies, companies can successfully navigate AI adoption and lead in an AI-driven future.

Graph of the Week

This week's "graph" is actually a screenshot highlighting a significant issue with Google's new AI. An AI-generated search result suggested adding non-toxic glue to pizza sauce to prevent cheese from sliding off!

This incident underscores the challenge of AI hallucinations, where AI systems produce incorrect or nonsensical information. Despite advancements, AI models like Google's still struggle with accuracy and reliability, emphasising the need for ongoing improvements and cautious implementation in real-world applications.

Quote of the Week

“Artificial intelligence and generative AI may be the most important technology of any lifetime.”
— Marc Benioff, chair, CEO, and co-founder, Salesforce

This Week's Big Thing in the Industry

Digital Construction Week (DCW) is the UK’s leading event dedicated to digital construction, engineering, design, manufacturing, and operation. Taking place this Wednesday and Thursday (5/6th June 2024) at ExCeL London, DCW brings together industry professionals to explore the latest innovations and technologies transforming the built environment.

The event features a dynamic exhibition with over 200 leading companies showcasing cutting-edge products and solutions. Attendees can explore a wide range of topics including BIM (Building Information Modelling), geospatial technology, smart buildings, digital twins, and automation.

DCW offers a comprehensive conference programme with over 150 hours of free-to-attend content, delivered by industry experts. The sessions cover various themes such as digital project delivery, improving productivity and efficiency through technology, and the future of digital construction.

Project Flux will be there to cover the event and bring you all the latest news.

For more information, visit the Digital Construction Week website.

What You Need to Know This Week

The Sana AI Summit 2024, held on May 15 in Stockholm, gathered leading experts to discuss advancements in AI. Key speakers included Geoffrey Hinton, Daphne Koller, Max Tegmark, and Regina Barzilay. Topics ranged from AI's role in healthcare to ethical considerations and future applications. Highlights included insights into AI's creative potential, deep learning for cancer diagnosis, and discussions on building ethical, transparent AI systems. The event emphasised the importance of balancing innovation with safety and ethical governance in AI development.

For more details, visit Sana AI Summit 2024.

AI in Project Delivery

  • OpenSpace’s BIM+ package integrates reality capture with BIM models, allowing field teams to navigate and coordinate using 360° site images. This tool bridges the gap between design and construction, enhancing on-site coordination and accuracy. Read more

  • The UK’s first fully digitally designed and constructed solar farm is now operational. This project highlights the benefits of using digital twins and integrated workflows in renewable energy projects. Read more

  • AI is acting as agents, co-pilots, and team members, enhancing project management, safety, and efficiency, showing significant potential in revolutionising workflows and productivity. Read more

  • The construction industry is embracing responsible AI to improve project delivery. By uniting stakeholders and focusing on ethical AI deployment, the sector aims to enhance efficiency, safety, and sustainability. Read more

  • Switzerland has completed its first on-site 3D-printed building in just eight days. This milestone demonstrates the efficiency and potential of 3D printing technology in the construction industry, promising faster and more sustainable building processes. Read more.

AI in Productivity

  • Truecaller is partnering with Microsoft to integrate the new Personal Voice technology from Microsoft Azure AI Speech. This feature allows users to create a digital version of their own voice for use in Truecaller's AI Assistant, enhancing personalisation and user experience. Read more  (Truecaller)  (PhoneArena)  (Gadgets 360)

  • Canva has launched Canva for Work, aiming to democratise design for all users. This initiative includes advanced features like Magic Resize, brand kits, and team functionalities, making professional design accessible to everyone. Read more.

  • The Ultimate ChatGPT Guide, available on Gumroad, is a comprehensive resource for leveraging ChatGPT's capabilities effectively. This guide provides detailed instructions and tips for optimising the use of AI in various applications. Read more.

  • OpenAI has partnered with PwC, bringing 100,000 of its workers onto ChatGPT’s enterprise tier. This makes PwC the largest ChatGPT enterprise customer and marks the beginning of significant AI integration in the consulting industry. Read more  (PhoneArena) .

  • AI agents are increasingly taking over mundane tasks, freeing up human workers for more complex and creative work. This shift highlights the growing role of AI in enhancing productivity and streamlining operations across various industries. Read more.

Tech News

  • AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton advocates for universal basic income to address job losses from AI advancements and warns of potential human extinction-level threats if AI is not properly regulated. He also emphasises the need for international agreements to prevent military misuse of AI. Read more.

  • PwC UK explores how AI is reshaping the workplace, highlighting the importance of responsible AI use to balance efficiency with ethical considerations. This includes enhancing productivity while addressing potential biases and ensuring transparency. Read more.

  • Leading tech companies, including AMD, Broadcom, Cisco, Google, HPE, Intel, Meta, and Microsoft, have formed the Ultra Accelerator Link (UA-Link) Promoter Group to advance AI connectivity in data centres, aiming to enhance AI processing and data flow. Read more.

  • Musk’s xAI has raised significant funds to push forward its AI ambitions, focusing on creating advanced AI systems and integrating them into various applications to solve complex problems and improve human-AI collaboration. Read more.

  • A new streaming service aims to revolutionise content delivery by leveraging AI to personalise and enhance user experience, offering tailored content and improving accessibility. Read more.

  • OpenAI’s ChatGPT is making significant inroads into higher education, with potential applications in personalised learning, administrative automation, and academic research, though it also raises questions about academic integrity and job displacement. Read more.

  • Bessemer is in talks to invest in AI startup Perplexity at a $3 billion valuation, reflecting the growing interest and substantial potential investors see in AI-driven innovation and solutions. Read more.

  • Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is focusing on advancing its AI capabilities to improve its products and services, enhancing user interaction and experience through more sophisticated AI-driven features. Read more.

  • iOS 18 is set to introduce new AI features aimed at enhancing user experience through smarter personalisation, improved Siri capabilities, and advanced privacy protections. Read more.

  • A BBC article discusses the potential of AI agents to handle mundane tasks, freeing up humans for more complex and creative work, highlighting both opportunities and challenges in this transition. Read more.

AI Security News

  • Google's AI division is grappling with "hallucinations"—situations where AI generates incorrect or nonsensical information. This phenomenon raises significant concerns about the reliability and safety of AI systems, especially as they become more integrated into everyday applications. Google's approach includes improving AI accuracy and mitigating these hallucinations to build trust and ensure user safety  Read more.

  • The U.S. Senate's AI roadmap aims to balance innovation with safety concerns, proposing federal investments in AI R&D, education, and data privacy laws. This approach seeks to foster trust in AI technologies while ensuring they are developed and deployed responsibly  Read more.

  • Facebook is introducing an opt-out feature for users who do not want their data used to train AI models. This move aims to address privacy concerns and give users more control over their data in the age of AI  . Read more.

  • OpenAI has formed a Safety and Security Committee to address risks associated with AI technologies, ensuring development aligns with ethical guidelines and safety standards  . Read more.

  • An ex-OpenAI board member has revealed internal challenges and governance issues, stressing the importance of balancing innovation with ethical considerations  . Read more.

  • The EU has passed the Artificial Intelligence Act, aiming to regulate AI technologies and ensure they are developed and used responsibly, with measures to mitigate risks and protect citizens' rights . Read more.

New Tools in Tech

At Project Flux, we love Perplexity AI and use it every day. Perplexity Pages, their latest feature, offers comprehensive, AI-generated summaries on a wide range of topics. These pages combine information from the best sources into a single, coherent overview, allowing users to quickly grasp complex subjects. Continuously updated with the latest data, Perplexity Pages enhance knowledge accessibility and efficiency, making them a valuable tool for both casual readers and professionals seeking in-depth understanding.

For more details, visit Perplexity Pages.

Podcasts: Must-Subscribe List

In this week's podcast we delve into critical AI safety developments. Highlights include the Global AI Safety Summit, where leaders pledged to counter rogue AI and established an international network for AI governance. Microsoft introduced autonomous agents in Copilot Studio and enhanced project management in Teams. The discussion covers AI's growing role in construction and sustainability, Musk's vision of AI making jobs optional, and advancements in ChatGPT's data analysis capabilities for better decision-making in fields like project management and quantity surveying.

Project Flux

Project Flux is a pioneering podcast that explores the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence across various industries, including construction, music, infrastructure, and life sciences, with a focus on revolutionising the project delive...

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