Let’s talk about AI, one of today’s hottest topics.

As an industry veteran, I get asked about it a lot. What’s my opinion on it? How will it impact the world? Is it positive or negative? Any personal concerns or questions? And so on. Every time I’m asked, I find it a bit annoying, to be honest. I don’t have a definitive answer, which may be surprising given my background and experience.

So I started thinking why is this? I realized that building and nurturing Wrench for so many decades gives you a bit of tunnel vision. I tend to see everything through the lens of ‘Wrench.’ Namely, how does this affect my company, my product, my clients, and my people. That’s my perspective. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, as a CEO, I don’t have the luxury of ‘high-level’ thinking. I can’t afford to ‘give gyan.’ I have to think practically. I deal only with specific issues for flesh-and-blood customers, not abstract ideas for hypothetical audiences.

The second reason is that, as an engineer, my DNA is problem-solving. Simply put, I can’t ruminate about technology for technology’s sake. I can’t speculate and predict trends and concepts I have to think in terms of cost-benefit, cause-effect, and investment ROI. I deal with customers, not audiences.

In a nutshell, my mission is to identify the actual problems my customer is facing and find ways to solve them using what is available. Digital technologies, including AI, are just tools in that mission. A few years ago, it was the cloud, so I used that. When it was CAD, I used that. Tomorrow, one year, or five years from now, it may be something else. I will find a way to use that too.

As far as I’m concerned, AI is the current Big Thing. Yes, it is revolutionary cool, powerful, and innovative, no doubt but fundamentally no different from any other digital advancement I’ve seen over the years. Yes, it is compelling at the moment. Yes, it will definitely change the way we work, just as every other technology has done in the past, for the better. And yes, I can tell you in detail how it impacts the way project companies plan and execute their projects because I have feedback from customers their questions, requests, and demands. I can spell out how AI is changing various facets of the project lifecycle, such as manpower management, planning and scheduling, risk management, and financial management. I could easily give a presentation on incorporating AI-driven features into my product. But that’s where it stays at the practical, tangible, measurable level.

So, when it comes to AI, keep in mind who we are and what we do, and don’t get sidetracked by the ‘marketing’ hype, philosophy, or ideology around AI. In the future, I will expand further on the points I mentioned above the practical and down-to-earth side of AI for EPC, AI in SmartProject, and AI with Wrench.

Stay tuned! Until next time! signoff.