FIDIC’s Global Leadership Forum (GLF) Summit for 2024 commenced yesterday in Geneva. The summit is an exclusive gathering of the 100 top most senior leaders of the infrastructure industry. The event is by invitation only and is a forum for leaders of the infrastructure sector to share their knowledge and discuss ideas on different issues faced by the industry and to connect with fellow professionals who are joining from around the globe.
FIDIC’s Global Leadership Forum Summit 2024
CEOs and senior executives from infrastructure organizations are among the delegates, including those employed in consulting engineering, the government sector, professional services, finance, trade associations, supply chains, asset owners, and academia. Apart from the infrastructure industry, professionals from other sectors are also invited to get diverse outlooks and to also challenge the established norms on the infrastructure side.
The focus topics of the GLF 2024 are market intelligence, decarbonization of infrastructure, and also artificial intelligence. Catherine Karakatsanis, President of FIDIC, said,
“When we announced the formation of the Global Leadership Forum, we did so with the aim of bringing key influencers and decision-makers together from the construction and infrastructure sectors to help address the critical issues we face as a society and an industry and to develop workable solutions to solve them.”
Source: FIDIC.
This second summit of FIDIC, which is underway, is also taking a look at the impact of AI on the sector and its potential to help optimize processes, enhance safety measures, and reduce costs in infrastructure projects. Experts who are sharing their knowledge will also contribute to a report that will be about the utilization of the AI infrastructure sector. GLF has also started the Carbon Collaboration Initiative, which is the second most important topic of discussion, and the summit is also taking a look at the past progress of market intelligence.
Didem Ün Ateş says only those who work with AI will remain
AI expert Didem Ün Ateş, who is the chief executive of LotusAI Ltd., gave her keynote address at the summit. She gave a presentation, “When Minds Meet Machines – The Power and Pitfalls of AI,“ in which she explained in depth about AI and it application in the infrastructure sector, and also the progresses, she explained the progress of AI over the years and how it is applied across different sectors.
Ün Ateş talked about the tech’s impact on the sector and workforce, saying,
“We now have the capacity to make a 24/7 transformation with generative AI across the value chain,” and “With generative AI added to the picture, 30% of hours worked today could be automated by 2030.”
Source: Infraglobal.
She highlighted the fact that AI integration will definitely result in shifting roles with automation and fine tuning and redesigning of existing work patterns. The LotusAI CEO also talked about the risks of AI, she said that all firms need to plan out proper strategies to prevent against unwanted consequences, including customer or partner disagreements, potential liability, operational challenges, and reputational damage. She emphasized that only those who work with AI will remain competitive, as it will enable the firms to be more smarter.
FIDIC’s page on Summit can be seen here, and highlights from Didem Ün Ateş’s keynote session are here.
