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 any time 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.Drones, cameras, mobile apps and even some robots are increasingly mapping real-time progress on sprawling job sites, giving builders and contractors the ability to track and improve a project’s performance.“Forget about robots building a skyscraper,” said James Swanston, chief executive of Voyage Control, which makes project management software for construction sites. “It’s a more fundamental thing, getting the data you need and then using it better.”The construction industry has long been considered a digital l …
