Artificial Intelligence (AI) considerations for information managers in the built environment

Nima has produced a position paper on artificial Intelligence (AI), aiming to provide clear, relevant, objective guidance on the use of AI, and to encourage appropriate habits and behaviours.

The paper – produced by nima’s think tank, the GIIG – is intended for information managers, asset managers, technologists and product specifiers in the built environment. It outlines key factors relating to use of AI in decision-making and information management processes,

15 key factors

The paper’s advice ranges across 15 areas, including the need to establish a clear business case for using AI. It then explores some of the key criteria in assessing the suitability and viability of applying AI to a decision-making process (levels of complexity, uncertainty, novelty, criticality, and ethical and security risks all need to be considered).

Legislative and regulatory requirements are also a key factor, as are issues relating to data quality (nima commented on this area in August 2024). Skills and knowledge needs are also covered, exploring the extent to which AI might, for example, reduce or blunt the skills of staff, and the need to understand how AI tools are trained.

The paper also thinks long-term: information managers need to think about the resilience of tools, the organisational systems / processes to use them, and the governance required over asset life cycles often measured in decades. The accelerating pace of change in technology and tools and the need to identify emergent learning are also covered, alongside the commercial and security risks of using AI.

Be sceptical

Before concluding, nima urges people, above all, to be sceptical:

Many of those developing, selling and implementing AI tools have unrealistically positive views of what their technology can achieve. In some cases, they could be accused of ‘magical thinking’. Before implementing AI tools, be sceptical about the claims being made about them, introduce suitable controls around their use and role in decision making and only relax these controls based on actual performance of these tools. Think critically about the data, analysis, outputs and decisions being made to reduce the risk of mistakes.

The development and use of AI in the built environment has the potential to deliver major benefits, and change ways of working. However, AI also presents many challenges that could lead to significant adverse impacts. Those implementing AI should aim to balance their enthusiasm for the way it will change how organisations work, with measured, sceptical, objective views of the costs, benefits, risks and potential adverse impacts.

Artificial Intelligence is developing rapidly. Nima intends to review Artificial Intelligence (AI) considerations for information managers in the built environment regularly and update when new insights become available.