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As Canada\u2019s consulting engineers increasingly embrace Artificial Intelligence, could the industry be unwittingly advancing ever closer to a major project failure, with potentially profound consequences?<\/p>\n
The possibility was raised during a lively webinar hosted by the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies \u2013 Canada (ACEC) to mark National Consulting Engineering Day May 26.<\/p>\n
Four panellists, all emerging practitioners in the sector, discussed the opportunities and potential pitfalls of AI and also explored such topics as preserving essential professional knowledge as leaders retire as well as addressing the continuing recruitment problem.<\/p>\n
The session was billed as Shaping Our Future.<\/p>\n
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Ivanna Montani, geotechnical engineer at KGS Group, was one of several panellists to warn viewers about the dangers of over-reliance on technology such as AI without adequate professional oversight.<\/p>\n
She described a profession where budgets are shrinking, funding is being reduced, resources are scarce and there is a shortage of professionals coming into the field, resulting in higher stress on consulting engineers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to say this out loud, we are living in a generation where we\u2019re at very high risk of an engineering failure associated with the use of AI on projects, and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised,\u201d said Montani.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the bigger challenges is going to be managing that reliance on technology\u2026I don\u2019t think it will ever replace the engineer, but I think it needs to be a very intentional, again, approach of integrating that into our work, specifically on the technical side, in a way that is healthy and that is productive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Panel moderator Michael Tiller, a structural engineer at Tiller Engineering and chair of ACEC\u2019s Future Leaders Network, added as engineers face talent crunches and time restraints, AI can seem like a \u201cgodsend,\u201d but if it\u2019s not being verified, it introduces significant potential risk.<\/p>\n
Panellist Peggy Chen, a civil engineer at Associated Engineering, was one of several contributors who suggested AI should be used as one tool among several and not as a foundation of an engineer\u2019s work. If AI is used in designs and a project goes wrong, she asked, where is the accountability?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to start by saying that AI scares me,\u201d said Chen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to know the process, and at each step what went into it. So I\u2019m cautiously optimistic that this is something that will be helpful, but we do need to be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla Vineham, a civil\/structural engineer-in-training at CIMA+, linked AI use with the professional development of young engineers. Every firm has senior leaders with decades of accumulated knowledge but often it is poorly transferred to the next generation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know with developing AI, I can see that coming into play a lot. I think in the future of consulting, for knowledge transfer and things like that\u2026documentation, documentation, documentation is very, very important,\u201d said Vineham.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important that we\u2019re documenting everything as we go through, so that the young grads, the younger generation coming up, have something to reference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montani and Tiller noted AI is used to automate some of the mundane tasks that junior engineers used to do, such as taking meeting minutes, writing field inspection reports and drafting a report \u2013 the younger engineers used to \u201ccut their teeth\u201d with these tasks, Tiller said, and that learning experience where they absorb the details of projects risks getting lost.<\/p>\n
It has always been a valuable way for them to interact with senior engineers, Tiller said, but it is now being outsourced to technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll never be able to build those skills by reading a textbook, or by prompting a ChatGPT question,\u201d said Montani. \u201cI think you\u2019ll be better developed as a professional around it if you try to seek that knowledge from people that have been around in industry for a long time and have the experience to provide that to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Montani said the discussion of AI use must fall back on the basic pillars of engineering, such as taking responsibility for projects and working with integrity.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow we incorporate that, I think it\u2019s going to drive a lot of innovation in the next couple of decades,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Chen said consulting engineering is at its core a \u201cpeople business,\u201d and she is optimistic about the future when she sees new talent with extensive technology skills joining the profession.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe diversity that we\u2019re now seeing in the pool of great talent is very exciting to me. So different perspectives, different experiences that can get brought in, and just enrich our industry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n