Major study explores AI use in infrastructure and real estate

The 2025 global ‘Artificial Intelligence – Impact on the Built Environment’ survey, run by international law firm Pinsent Masons with industry leaders Bentley Systems, Mott MacDonald, and Turner & Townsend, focuses on the impact of AI on the built environment and, in addition to AI use cases, examines issues of AI governance and risks.

The survey is expected to reveal not only how prevalent AI use is in the built environment but what the technology is currently used for – whether for optimising processes, real-time health and safety monitoring, or enabling proactive asset maintenance, among other examples. Participants in the survey are also asked to predict the degree to which AI will be significantly leveraged in project design and engineering – as well as in delivering construction works themselves – in three years’ time.

Views on the expected impact of AI on construction, the built environment, and business models, as well as on the challenges faced in adopting AI in projects, are also sought. Other questions assess the extent to which AI use is governed by AI policies and where near-term AI investment is likely to be targeted

Pinsent Masons is seeking input to the survey from a wide range of stakeholders based around the world – from developers and infrastructure owners, occupiers or operators, to contractors, suppliers, technology providers, and project managers, as well as architectural or engineering design consultants and those involved in financing.

Individuals involved in senior executive or managerial roles – including chief executives, chief technology officers, general counsel, commercial directors, and project or marketing managers – are encouraged to complete the survey.

“Those operating across the sector need to be mindful of the huge challenges around the use of AI for the design and construction of built assets,” said infrastructure and real estate expert Ian Laing of Pinsent Masons. “The increased risks and impact on business operations must be understood. The implementation of clear governance and controls around the use and deployment of AI in the design, construction, and operation of built assets will be essential to grasping the opportunities new AI will undoubtedly bring to the built environment.”

Graham Robinson, global business consultant also of Pinsent Masons, said: “A total of $10.2 trillion globally in 2022 prices is expected to be spent on construction work done in 2025, according to Oxford Economics. Spending on construction of new infrastructure and buildings is set to rise considerably over the next decades, yet construction productivity has remained at best stagnant over the last two decades whilst many countries suffer from chronic skills shortages.”

“Data is a key strategic enabler of digital and automated ways of working, not only helping to decarbonise our built environment, but also enabling modern industrialised construction, reducing waste, bridging the skills gap, and making the most of scare resources,” he said.

“The pace in adopting AI technologies and solutions across the built environment sector is growing rapidly as we harness the power of data to provide a very significant opportunity and competitive edge for all businesses across the sector. The availability of AI will only increase at speed, and new use cases will emerge with the potential to revolutionise the built environment sector – or even disrupt current industry business models,” he added.