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A recent international survey indicated that almost half (46 per cent) of the professionals in Nigeria's built environment sector have been utilising artificial intelligence (AI) tools daily for various aspects of their work over the past year.
They reported using specific AI tools for city and infrastructure design.
The survey was commissioned by Arup, global sustainable development consultancy of designers, engineers and consultants.
Adoption of AI by the sector in Nigeria is surpassing other countries, the authors of the report noted. Globally, the share of professionals in the sector using AI for work daily was 36 per cent, according to the report Embracing AI: Reshaping today’s cities and built environment.
The report gathered insights from 5,000 professionals, including city / urban planners, architects, engineers and digital officers at manager-level or above.
The survey included 500 professionals from each of these countries: the US, UK, Australia, Nigeria, Germany, China, Singapore, Brazil, India, and Indonesia. The tools utilised consist of extensive simulations, evolutionary algorithms, and AI grounded in scientific principles. In Nigeria, the technology is most commonly used for design work, project management and enhancing decision-making processes.
The findings showed that 49 per cent of professionals across Nigeria are very excited or concerned about the growing use of AI in the built environment sector.
Many respondents said they believe AI can help projects be delivered on time and within budget, while also helping tackle the climate and environmental crises — citing solutions such as waste reduction, developing sustainable materials and optimising renewable energy.
As many as 35 per cent of professionals in Nigeria said that AI-driven sustainable material development applications have the biggest potential positive impact on tackling the climate and environmental crises.
Most of them (92.6 per cent) believed it is important to have ethical guidelines for AI in the built environment.
However, 40 per cent of respondents in Nigeria viewed the availability and quality of data as obstacles to adopting AI in the construction sector.
“Our survey shows a clear demand for faster and more purposeful development of the AI system that meets the real needs of the world. But to do this, we urgently need governments, big tech, the financial institutions and the sector itself to greatly increase the focus and resources being committed to developing these types of AI systems,” said Will Cavendish, Global Digital Services Leader, Arup.
The consultancy called for more focus and investment for the development of AI tools that can have the biggest positive impact on people and planet.