Our robotic future: Assessing AI's impact on the AEC profession and the built environment

In 2013, Chieh Huang and others launched Boxed, an online wholesale retailer that quickly grew to over $100 million in annual sales--largely through automation. As the new system was being installed, one line worker asked Huang, "Are you still going to need me when that thing goes live?" The company managed to redeploy everyone and not lose a single staffer. "Automation is great for profits," Huang told Fortune, "but it's a real potential trouble area for society." Forbes estimates that automation can improve productivity by 25-38% and save larger companies millions every year.