Top 5 ways to slash carbon emissions in the construction industry

Top 5 ways to slash carbon emissions in the construction industry

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Top 5 ways to slash carbon emissions in the construction industry

As public concerns are mounting, governments are taking action, bringing in environmental targets designed to thwart runaway global warming, for the Certainty of hitting new temperature highs is nowadays unquestionable.

Globally, the sector contributes around 23% of air pollution, 40% of drinking water pollution, and 50% of all landfill wastes.

Meanwhile, the built environment as a whole is responsible for 30% of total global final energy consumption and 27% of total energy sector emissions, according to the IEA.

Populations around the world are already grappling with the impacts of climate crisis and environmental breakdown, from melting permafrosts and ice in the polar regions, to increases in extreme weather across the globe, creating greater risks of wildfires, floods and droughts while rising sea levels and worsening storms threaten coastal communities.

As public concerns are mounting, governments are taking action – bringing in environmental targets designed to thwart runaway global warming and help turn the tide on ecological destruction.

To stay ahead of the forces driving global business, construction firms must re-evaluate the pivotal role in how our species interacts with the planet.

Five key ways they can do this include:

1. Not building

Instead of resource-intensive new-builds, retrofitting existing building stock must play a much bigger role.

Last year the International Energy Agency called for 20 per cent of all existing building stock to be retrofitted by the year 2030 in order for the world to meet its climate targets, and said it should be a “key” focus of the construction industry’s decarbonisation efforts.

The organisation has called for an annual “deep renovation rate” of over 2% from now to 2030 and beyond.

2. Planning for long-term environmental gains

If new building works must go ahead they should start with a wholesale consideration of their form, function and impact on society, and how these impacts can be mitigated. This starts with planning.

Urban planners can make the built environment more environmentally friendly by adopting eco-friendly design approaches at an early stage.

This includes minimising land use, prioritising connections to public transport networks and walking and cycling routes to discourage private car use, and increasing access to green and blue spaces such as parks and bodies of water, which can enhance air quality, protect some natural resources and boost the health and well-being of the people in the environment.

Furthermore, the importance of implementing high Environmental Social Governance (ESG) standards within the industry is growing rapidly. As pressure for the construction industry to clean up its act grows, so too is the requirement for ESG standards, which should one day become a compulsory and universal system for evaluating the sustainability of both new developments and retrofitted buildings.

3.  Incorporating passive design and renewable energy

Passive design features combined with renewable energy can dramatically lower the carbon footprint of a completed building when it is in use.

This starts with selecting suitable building locations and orientations to make the best possible use of the natural environmental conditions.

Then, layout of rooms, window design, insulation, thermal mass, rain collection, shade and ventilation, all play significant roles in making a building as efficient as possible.

Passive House–certified homes use an estimated 80% less energy for heating and cooling than conventional buildings.

With the addition of solar panels or wind turbines for power generation and water heating, energy demands – and therefore environmental impacts – can be even lower. A new generation of photovoltaic solar-tiles promise even greater levels of flexibility and enhanced returns on investment.

Meanwhile, geothermal heat pumps and air-source heat pumps have enormous levels of efficiency in comparison to traditional gas boilers.

4. Cementing a concrete lead

Concrete is the most widely used man-made material in existence and is second only to water as the most-consumed resource on the planet.

Described as “the most destructive material on earth”, the production of cement, which is used to make concrete, is responsible for up to 8% of global CO2 emissions and would be the third largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world if listed as a country in its own right, causing up to 2.8bn tonnes of CO2 a year, surpassed only by China and the US.

Reduction in cement use is vital. This can be done by using recycled materials in the mix, reducing the amount of cement used, and using alternative materials such as fly ash or slag.

5. Choosing sustainable building materials

As well as reducing usage of concrete or mixing less damaging kinds of concrete, there are also various alternatives to concrete which take a much lower environmental toll on the planet. These include hempcrete, which is made from hemp plants mixed with a lime-based binder. This forms a lightweight, breathable construction material with excellent insulation properties.

Another alternative is rammed earth, which is made by compressing soil into a formwork. It is durable, low-maintenance, and has excellent thermal mass properties.

Other exciting modern breakthroughs in construction materials include straw bale construction, cross-laminated timber (CLT), and bamboo, all of which can often be produced with low impacts to the environment, and match existing construction materials for strength and practicality.

Conclusion

For companies to thrive and survive, embracing the health of our planet is a must. With the Cop28 summit in Dubai on the horizon, and the hosts warning that the IPCC has already “made it crystal clear that we are way off track”, the importance of adopting ambitious targets to achieve sustainable building has never been greater.

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How Do International Codes Assure Sustainability?

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We Expect A Lot From Our Buildings — How Do International Codes Assure Sustainability?

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Today, society faces 3 major challenges in the built environment: ensuring building safety, improving sustainability, and addressing our affordable housing crisis.

May is Building Safety Month. Up-to-date international codes can make communities more equipped to endure increasingly frequent and severe weather events, improve sustainability, and address the affordable housing crisis. This year, innovation and collaboration are evolving due to the increasing frequency and severity of global weather events. All communities need building codes to protect their citizens from disasters like fires, weather-related events, and structural collapse.

It seemed to make sense to learn more about how modern and innovative international building codes address these imperatives, how code officials work day in and day out to keep the public safe, and how the International Code Council is enabling the flow of innovative policies and practices around the world to improve the built environment.

So we reached out to Dominic Sims, CEO of the International Code Council, who agreed to an interview.

Q: Thanks for making yourself available to answer some questions. For those unfamiliar with the International Code Council, why is it in existence, and what effect has it had on cities and towns across the globe?

Dominic Sims, CEO of the International Code Council, Photo provided by International Code Council

The International Code Council was established in 1994 as a non-profit organization dedicated to developing a single set of comprehensive and coordinated model building codes. The mission of the Code Council is to steward the development process for model codes that benefit public safety and support the industry’s need for one set of codes without regional limitations. We are a member-focused association with members from across building industries who come together to participate in our democratic and transparent process to develop the most widely used set of building safety codes and standards in the world – the International Codes® (I-Codes®).

Our technical staff works closely with legislators and code officials to help jurisdictions implement the most appropriate set of codes for their specific regions.

 

 

Q: I’m struck by the call for reciprocity toward improving sustainability and addressing the affordable housing crisis. These 2 objectives seem not to be related. Might you offer some insights into their symbiosis?

We expect a lot of our buildings. They are complex systems that have broad ranging impacts on our lives and communities. They protect us from hazards, influence our health, and impact our environment. Finding the balance across all these expectations while maintaining affordability is challenging, but the Code Council and governments must navigate these complexities.

Housing affordability is particularly important for low and moderate income households. These households are often the hardest hit by disasters — many of which are exacerbated by climate change — and lack the resources for post-disaster recovery. At the same time, they spend a disproportionate amount of their income on utility bills — in some places 3 times as much as the average household. When we talk about housing affordability, it’s not just whether we can get someone in a house but whether they can afford to stay there.

The International Code Council is currently the only code development organization that actively considers cost as an element of the code development process. Through the code development, process stakeholders from across the building industry come together to identify the best practices for safety and sustainability while ensuring the resulting buildings remain affordable and accessible to broad populations. Naturally, individual communities have their own perspectives on priorities for their building stock. The Code Council provides communities with tools to achieve those priorities from model codes that capture the current consensus to stretch codes that can assist communities in going beyond minimum-level requirements.

Q: May is Building Safety Month. What should our readers know about the need to adopt modern, regularly-updated building codes?

Today, society faces 3 major challenges in the built environment: ensuring building safety, improving sustainability, and addressing our affordable housing crisis. Modern and innovative international codes are society’s first line of defense to address these imperatives. One of the most cost-effective ways to safeguard communities against natural disasters is to build using hazard-resistant building codes.

FEMA studies show that every dollar invested in the adoption of modern building codes provides 11 times more in savings by reducing casualties, lowering the cost of building damage and helping communities get back on their feet faster by minimizing indirect costs such as business interruptions and lost income. We want to emphasize to all communities the importance of adopting modern building codes and stress the critical importance of continued inspection and enforcement to keep buildings and their occupants safe and healthy. We also encourage local governments to fund their building departments to support the needed level of maintenance inspections.

 

 

The formula for success in implementing and supporting modern building codes and inspections is simple: staff, train, and finance.

Q: How is the building industry working to increase water efficiency through innovative practices and technologies — not just domestically but worldwide?

Logo provided by ICC

Innovation and collaboration must evolve due to global weather events’ increasing frequency and severity. There are many examples of countries in water-scarce areas that are innovating to increase water efficiency. Those involved in the code development process can draw best practices from the following examples across the globe:

  • Israel is leading the world through its policies, practices, and technologies for its water resources and conservation, most notably through reclaiming over 80% of its wastewater and stormwater for agricultural operation.
  • Saudi Arabia boasts the highest production of desalinated water worldwide (the country removes salt out of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf) and is in the process of converting its desalination plants to solar.
  • Cape Town, South Africa is incorporating automated domestic water metering installations to set a target water usage for each resident per day, leveraging alternative water sources, and updating their supply network infrastructure.
  •  The United Kingdom is cutting water use through water metering, incentives for water-saving technologies, hosepipe bans, and investing in updating the country’s water supply equipment.
  • The North China Plain has addressed increasing agricultural demands on water through increased monitoring, institutionalized water conservation practices, ground leveling, and more efficient drainage and irrigation sprinklers.

Q: How does Building Safety Month address some of the issues that we face as a global community, including extreme weather events and water scarcity?

Clean water is the world’s most precious commodity, and public health depends on safe and readily available water. The World Health Organization estimates over two billion people live in water-stressed countries, which is expected to worsen in some regions due to a changing climate and population growth. Water conservation and efficiency issues have become crucial conversations amongst building safety professionals in recent years. Building Safety Month raises awareness about these issues by reinforcing the need to adopt modern, regularly-updated building codes, and helps individuals, families, and businesses understand what it takes to create safe and sustainable structures.

 

 

Q: What additional details or insights might you provide on how we can institute these best practices in the US?

There is currently no national standard on maintenance and inspection. Individual states follow their own enforcement procedures to seek out, modify, adopt and enforce their own building codes and standards. Currently adopted codes, which local jurisdictions can, and do, modify on a case-by-case basis, may or may not include provisions for building re-inspections and maintenance requirements. The International Property Maintenance Code® (IPMC®) established minimum requirements for the maintenance of existing buildings through model code regulations that contain clear and specific maintenance and property improvement provisions. The latest edition is fully compatible with the International Building Code® (IBC®).

Every jurisdiction needs to understand what their specific regional needs are so that their building, maintenance, and re-inspections codes have appropriately specific provisions for the natural, environmental, and emergency conditions more prevalent in their area (e.g., Florida hurricanes, Kansas tornadoes, California earthquakes and wildfires).

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.Read more on CleanTechnica

 


Circular Economy and Digital Technologies can

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The Built environment needing a sustainable future should rely on a circular economy and digital technologies to support its building industry. 

These can help it to cope with its worldwide environmental challenge. How is the question that is answered by Jacqueline Cramer.

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How circular economy and digital technologies can support the building sector to cope with its worldwide environmental challenge?

By Jacqueline Cramer

 

The building sector can address pressing environmental problems by leveraging two major trends: circular economy and digital technologies. Circular building practices emphasize restorative design principles, which can significantly reduce the amount of virgin material used and the environmental footprint of buildings. When combined with digital technologies, circular practices can achieve even higher environmental benefits. Such technologies enable visualization of the environmental impact along the entire value chain, facilitating smart design, production, and use to increase material- and eco-efficiency. However, realizing the full potential of these trends requires more than just technological advancements. Institutional, behavioral, and socio-economic system changes are essential to effect a transition towards a circular and digital economy. To facilitate such a transition, a new form of governance is needed, in which network governance complements conventional public governance. Network governance fosters the formation of coalitions of willing partners that jointly strive towards the goal of system change, creating a fertile ground for a new economic paradigm, behavioral change, government regulation and innovation. The effectiveness of network governance in supporting public governance depends on the specific socio-cultural and political context of a country. However, a thoughtful application of this governance model can facilitate the building sector’s journey towards greater material- and environmental efficiency.

Introduction

The building sector is confronted with the imperative of accelerating its environmental performance. Currently, building and construction generate 36 percent of global energy consumption, produce 40 percent of waste and account for roughly 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide1. To tackle these environmental challenges, the building sector must capture the opportunity that two major trends provide: digital technologies and the circular economy. This article explains why these trends can be critical for mitigating the environmental impact of the building sector and outlines strategies for how their implementation can be achieved and accelerated.

Digital technologies

The application of digital technologies can benefit the building sector by making the building process more material- and eco-efficient2. A broad field of digital technologies are available and continuously scaling, including artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, cyber physical systems, blockchain and virtual and augmented reality3. However, the building sector has just begun to adopt these emerging technologies. Integrating these technologies into daily work processes would significantly add value to the sector4. For instance, data management tools—such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), material passports, lifecycle analysis and material flow analysis—can enhance transparency about the environmental performance of the entire building chain and provide insight into how the chain can become more eco-efficient5.

The broad field of virtual and augmented reality can provide a 3D understanding of how a building is constructed, with what materials, and how this can be attuned to the needs of the customer. In addition, it can optimize resource use during the construction, maintenance, and end-of-life phases. An example is the use of digital twins6. This is a virtual representation of an object or system that spans its lifecycle, is updated from real-time data, and uses simulation, machine learning and attendant reasoning to help decision-making, also about material-efficiency7. In addition, 3D printing offers a greener building technique that eliminates a great amount of CO2 emitting and energy-consuming processes compared to conventional building techniques8. Thus, digital technologies can help improve the environmental performance of buildings, particularly when combined with the circular economy.

Circular economy

The concept of the circular economy is simple yet urgent. It highlights the fact that we are overconsuming natural resources, some of which are scarce, on a global scale. In 1970, we only needed one earth to provide mankind with the necessary resources; nowadays we need 1.75 earths. If we continue on our current path, we will require 3 earths by 20509. The Circular Gap Report has revealed that our world is still largely linear10, as we only bring 8.6% of what we use back into the cycle, resulting in a Circularity Gap of over 90%. To address this issue and become more prudent with raw materials, energy, and water, pleas are made to move to a circular economy11. There have been various definitions for the term ‘circular economy’12. However, the common denominator is that it is restorative by design and aims to keep products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value, distinguishing between technical and biological cycles13. This notion is particularly significant important for the building sector because of the high percentage of waste produced. However, this sector is characterized by strong project-based institutionalized practices and market mechanisms, which in many aspects do not facilitate the inclusion of circular economy principles14.

Technically, it is possible to consume far fewer raw materials in the building sector and drastically reduce CO2 emissions. We can extend the lifespan of buildings, redesign them with circularity in mind, reuse parts of them and recycle their materials15. Three Dutch examples serve to illustrate the benefits of building with circular economy principles. For instance, the distribution system operator Alliander—an entity responsible for distributing and managing energy to final consumers—opened its new office in 2015 in Duiven. Although everything about the building exudes style and newness, almost nothing in it is actually new. In fact, 83% of the materials used in the building are recycled. Similarly, in the new Venlo town hall (established in 2016 in the Netherlands) all the raw materials used in the construction can be fully reused with no loss of value. Moreover, the town hall building is entirely energy neutral, thanks to features such as solar panels, thermal energy storage, and solar boilers. The Green House pavilion is the final example, designed to be temporary, as the municipality of Utrecht has plans to redevelop the area in 15 years. The construction used as many recycled materials as possible, which will also be reused when the building is removed. And ultimately, when that happens, there will be no trace left of The Green House in or on the land. The building’s construction is designed to ensure that no pipes, cables, or sewage will remain in the soil under the pavilion, thus minimizing its impact. However, scaling up such iconic projects and making circular building mainstream remains a significant challenge. It requires system innovation, in which technological change goes hand in hand with a socio-economic and behavioral change. The main obstacles to realizing this system change include a focus on short-term goals, complex supply chains, a lack of collaboration between stakeholders, and the absence of a commonly agreed definition of the circular economy within the industry16.

Governance

Experiences in circular economy have demonstrated that the aforementioned obstacles can be overcome with effective governance during the transition to a circular system17. This shift requires a fundamental departure from the current linear system in which products are carelessly discarded after use. No single entity, whether it be a company, local government, or NGO, can undertake such a comprehensive system change on their own. Collaboration among partners who are committed to contributing to the change is necessary to establish a robust network. To ensure its efficacy, this network should be orchestrated through a concept known as ‘network governance’. Network governance is not meant to replace conventional public governance, but rather to complement it. It facilitates the attainment of circular objectives and strengthens societal support for more stringent government measures.

A comparative study encompassing 16 countries has illustrated that network governance can offer substantial added value18. However, the extent to which network governance can support public governance is contingent upon specific socio-cultural and political contexts19. For instance, in countries where the government takes a strong leadership role in circular economy and receptivity towards network governance is high, the conditions for initiating and accelerating circular economy are propitious. The Dutch circular building examples mentioned above serve as a case in point. In contrast, where both forms of governance are weak, it is more arduous to launch circular initiatives. Nevertheless, opportunities for developing circular economy can be identified in all 16 countries studied. In Australia, for instance, industry, government, and NGOs exhibit a rather antagonistic attitude towards one another. However, this does not preclude cooperation among these actors in sectors such as building; it simply necessitates additional incentives. For example, when commissioning parties cooperate in restructuring an urban area and implementing circular strategies, they can urge the network of contractors to exchange data and adopt an integrated circular approach. Digital technologies can reinforce such cooperation.

Hence, the building sector worldwide can make substantial strides on the path to circular economy when new forms of network cooperation among pertinent actors are implemented in conjunction with government leadership. Individual actors frequently hesitate to assume leadership roles in system change, as they do not perceive it to be their core business and await others to step forward. To resolve this predicament, independent intermediaries, known as transition brokers, can play a pivotal role in orchestrating the change process. They can align actors with divergent interests around a shared vision and resolve impasses. To be effective, transition brokers must possess a specific set of competencies and acquire the mandate to function as intermediaries. Once accepted, transition brokers can accelerate the process significantly.

Researchers can also contribute to the transition towards a circular building sector. However, to render their research socially relevant, individual projects should be clustered around themes that collectively portray the broader picture of transitioning to a circular economy. In this way, research can be mobilized that centers on fundamental solutions confronting society today. Generalists with sufficient knowledge about the variety of innovations and the specifics of the building sector are certainly equipped to bundle research and highlight the most promising innovations. These knowledge brokers can facilitate the utilization of research in practical applications in the building sector, in the short or long term20. This would enhance the value of the arduous work undertaken by numerous researchers in the field of the built environment.

The image above is credit to IStock.

.Read more on NATURE urban sustainability

Greenhouse gas emissions tracking project

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AI and Smart Cities–Improving Urban Life

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AI and Smart Cities are they meant for Improving Urban Life?  Let us see what AI could bring to Smart Cities.
The image above is credit to World Economic Forum.
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AI and Smart Cities–Improving Urban Life

By Ale Oluwatobi Emmanuel

The world as we have it today is not static. At the snap of a finger, there’s a new innovation in town that everyone makes a fuss about. Over the years and through generations, we’ve witnessed a series of disruptions in various sectors that have impacted our lives and activities.

You’d want to see what the first generation of computers in the 19th century looked like when they were invented. Take your time. They took up the size of an entire room.

Here is the question–who would have thought the same large computers could be compressed into smaller sizes? Today, with a size of 0.3 millimeters, the Michigan micro mote boasts of being the most miniature computer, and guess what? That’s a size smaller than a grain of rice.

What’s more? As humans, there is an exciting future ahead, and we’d have it with artificial intelligence at our beck and call. Recently, you’ve noticed how AI is disrupting virtually all sectors worldwide. Talk of banking, transportation, health, military, and even sports.

As we see with other sectors, our city centers are included in these disruptions, especially now that urban areas are getting more crowded and complex. It’s time to make our cities smart with AI.

What are smart cities, and how do we make our cities smart with this unique technology? There is no better time to have the discussion. Let’s dive in.

Smart Cities: What exactly are they?

If you’ve ever wondered–everyone is talking about smart cities, what’s the fuss about them? A city is smart if it incorporates technology and other digital solutions for its processes.

A smart city would utilize information and communication technologies to improve the quality of life of the citizens and the way the government serves the people.

It utilizes innovative technologies for a more interactive and responsive city administration, improved water supply, innovative urban transport networks, waste management, and many more.

A city is termed smart not by the number of smart technologies it’s got but by how it has effectively used these technologies to positively impact its citizens and drive economic growth.

Here is the catch– Artificial intelligence has a huge potential to access the activities of urban dwellers to bring about urban planning and management.

Talk of handling data from different sources to gain insights for effective municipal operations. Guess what? It also reduces associated expenses. Let’s assess some more use cases of AI in Smart cities.

Artificial Intelligence and Smart City Infrastructures

According to research conducted by the World Bank, 56% of the world’s population, which is about 4.4 billion people, live in cities. By 2050, this figure is expected to have doubled its current size.

At that point, 7 out of 10 people you meet would live in the city. Hence, there is a need to leverage artificial intelligence to enhance infrastructure and create more sustainable and livable urban environments.

For example, in public transit, cities with vast transit infrastructure have much to gain regarding making their processes seamless.

With the power of AI, commuters using major routes can offer real-time information through hands-on devices to communicate the situation of things on the road. This can enable other commuters to decide the ways they’d be taking faster.

As a case study, Dubai initiated a smart city project to monitor bus drivers’ condition, contributing to a 65% reduction in accidents caused by fatigue and stress.

In the same vein, AI can enhance the safety of power grids to improve performance management. Smart grids, such as generation plants, can be created backed by computer technology.

Moreso, prediction models can be set up on these grids to make smart meter readings of large quantities of data. They can also forecast the demand and price at given moments.

Artificial Intelligence and Smart City Services

Today, there is a need for cities around the world to provide improved delivery and quality of services through continuous monitoring of residents. For example, an AI-driven system in Los Angeles monitors air quality in real-time.

This system helps the city reduce air pollution and improve public health. It uses data from air quality sensors to prompt city officials about air pollution hotspots. It helps guide citizens to safe travel places.

Below are some other service sectors experiencing the disruptions of artificial intelligence.

  • Customer Service:

AI is disrupting customer service. Natural language processing (NLP) algorithms in chatbots are now available. The chatbots let customer support executives work effectively by getting information about customers’ issues.

So, it means if you own a business that relies majorly on customer service, you can hire an AI developer that can build chatbots to meet your specific business needs. Due to the accuracy of chatbots, there are speculations that they’d take over customer service roles, but only time will tell.

  • Health care:

In the healthcare service sector, introducing AI can bring about predictive healthcare. By leveraging predictive analytics, AI can help doctors make accurate decisions about the health of their patients. Asides from this, AI can also help streamline the analysis of scan results via image recognition. Doctors diagnose symptoms more accurately and effectively. With the rise of IoT-enabled embedded devices, they can remotely monitor their patient’s health conditions.

  • Banking:

AI is a valuable tool in a field such as the financial sector, which is prone to fraudulent activities. Artificial intelligence helps banks automate processes that are typically carried out by humans, reducing the time and effort it takes if done manually. Interestingly, AI can also help track customers’ credit history. AI’s predictive technology shows the likelihood of an individual not paying a loan back based on the information it analyzes.

That way, financial institutions and other loan services can streamline the process of getting new customers likely to repay their loans.

  • Transportation

Autonomous vehicles are here to stay, and they’re powered by AI. Who would have thought there’d be a time when cars could navigate their ways without human control? Well, it’s happening now. Kudos to Tesla and other big technology companies. Autonomous vehicles can also be used for deliveries and for transporting goods. Self-driving trucks can deliver packages more efficiently. We already see Tesla’s AI-powered Semi automobile do well in this regard.

Artificial Intelligence–The Tool for a Smarter World

No doubt, it is a visible phenomenon that the world of technology and innovation constantly changes. It’s exciting to let you know that we’re still at the early stage of the deployment of AI. Although we’ve seen its applications in diverse sectors, its long-term benefits will start unfolding. If you’re reading this now, you’re lucky. You must begin to adapt and position well for a new world driven by artificial intelligence.

Moving forward, a lot of changes will happen. From lifestyle changes to improvements in societal processes and operations. Welcome to the world of AI.

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Read original TechDay article.