With its ability to learn, solve problems and recognize patterns at a velocity and scale no human will ever match, artificial intelligence is poised to reshape how buildings are designed, built and operated -- and 2023 will be the year it takes hold. "Artificial intelligence will transform our industry in the next 10 years more than any other technology in the past 100 years," said James Barrett, chief innovation officer for Turner Construction, the nation's largest contractor. "It's going to be huge because it has such broad application in so many cases. AI and machine learning, a subset of AI that uses algorithms to learn from data without human programming, have been bubbling under the surface of construction operations for a few years now. But this year, Barrett predicted, "the growth curve is going to turn up really fast." Combining the power of intelligent machines with human ingenuity, AI is the digital brain that makes industry-changing technologies such as robotics, ...

A San Francisco-based construction tech startup that recently received a $14 million stamp of approval from investors is also impressing the construction managers who use its software. OpenSpace, maker of an artificial intelligence-driven technology that captures and analyzes construction site data, received the capital infusion this summer. Investors include co-working giant WeWork as well as two well-known industry stalwarts with experience using the platform: Suffolk Construction and real estate developer Tishman Speyer. The financing marks the company's first raise since it closed on a $3.5 million seed round after its founding in September 2017. The software uses artificial intelligence to create navigable, 360-degree photo representations of a site.