Orlando - A construction industry safety manager had just come from a late Tuesday afternoon session on AI analytics at the American Society of Safety Professionals annual conference. AI seems to be on the mind of everyone here, the subject of every other conversation. For a session that started at 4:15 pm, it was crowded, with attendees standing in the back.

Will AI thin out the field of safety professionals? he was asked. “You can never replace a good safety manager,” he said. He recently used generative AI to write a script for a short meeting on selecting hand protection. “I saved a couple hours researching and writing it myself,” he said. How do you know the information is accurate? “You’ve got to read over it. I noticed I left out a few things. You have to have someone with knowledge, experience and judgment. It’s crazy when AI is let loose with no guardrails.”

He said AI could never replicate every variable that can cause hazards on a construction site. “A bulldozer is over here, then it’s over there. There are some jobs that are so complex, with so many maneuvers, there are just too many variables. Things change so fast on sites. You can’t write code for everything.”

The young pro talked confidently. He’s open-minded, he sees the positives and the negatives. He has a long career ahead, and he’s not worried.