AI is coming to construction sites. It flags hazards. Researchers say there is little proof it prevents injuries.
Read that again. A machine watches a man stand near a trench. The machine notices. The trench does not care.
This is the safety equivalent of a smoke detector that files a very detailed report while the house burns. Great notification. Terrible outcome.
Construction is already one of the deadliest jobs in America. The industry has spent decades adding cameras, sensors, and software. Now it wants to add a smarter camera. The hazard list gets longer. The injury list gets a footnote saying more research is needed.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The construction industry is pleased to announce a bold new commitment to awareness. Workers will now be aware of danger in high definition. Falling remains unaffected.
Somewhere a vendor is calling this a paradigm shift. It is a dashboard. A dashboard with a subscription fee.
The researchers deserve credit. They looked at the shiny new product and asked the rudest question in business. Does it work? The answer was a shrug in a lab coat.
Retail traders will still buy the stock. They will call it the future of infrastructure. They will hold it through the first lawsuit. They hold everything through the first lawsuit. It is the only skill they have.
A hard hat costs about twenty dollars and has decades of evidence behind it. The AI costs a fortune and has a pilot program.
Bet on the hard hat. It never once sent a worker a push notification about his own death.
Photo by Robin Jonathan Deutsch on Unsplash
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