By Geoff Williams
Interest in artificial intelligence is almost as ubiquitous as the technology’s prevalence in the workplace, training, and union environments. This prompted two AI-themed sessions at the Partners in Progress Conference, led by Hugh Seaton, managing director of construction with Quantum Rise, an AI consultancy based out of Austin, Texas; and Mike Harris, an executive director of ITI, NEMI, and SMOHIT. The two led the audience through the basics of AI, and some of the ways it can help just about anyone in the world of sheet metal.
Seaton explained that while AI can do some extraordinary things, at the end of the day, AI is software. “In some ways, AI is not all that different from an Excel spreadsheet,” he said. “The big difference is that AI is trained on data rather than explicitly coded for every instruction.”
In layman’s terms, that means that with Excel, users know what they will get—a spreadsheet. With AI, it is more difficult to predict what it will say. But, again, it’s software, Seaton said, and it can’t replace your judgment. “AI is not an easy button,” he continued. “It’s a tool that gets you 80% of the way there.”
But completing that remaining 20% is critical, and Seaton cautioned what many people have probably already discovered—AI gets a lot right, but it can get a lot wrong, too. It can’t be fully trusted to give users the required information, even if it sounds completely authoritative. “It doesn’t know the job you’re working on,” Seaton said. “It doesn’t have intuition.”
Seaton also pointed out why it’s so easy to trust AI, even when AI is wrong: if a human gives information that may be incorrect, they tend to hesitate. They also may not fully look you in the eye. They may not sound so confident. But AI typically always seems very sure of itself when it answers a question.
Seaton reassured everyone that AI is a tool and not likely to take over the world, and he doesn’t think many people will become unemployed because of it. Well, not exactly. “You won’t lose your job to AI, but you’ll lose it to someone using AI,” Seaton said. In other words, AI will change our industry and world, and so you can’t ignore it. Your competitors won’t.
Harris shared some of the translation AI tools that may benefit employers and the workforce. He focused on four tools:
- PowerPoint now offers an AI-fueled feature that recognizes nine spoken languages and can provide 60 subtitle languages, which can help hearing impaired or non-native language speakers understand a presentation.
- AI translator earbuds (Harris recommends the Timekettle brand) allow a caller to speak one language and the recipient to hear the caller’s message in another language—including regional dialects.
- Smart pen translators and recorders can scan printed text and read it back in selected languages It supports multiple languages, but far fewer dialects compared to the earbuds.
- AI note takers used to transcribe meetings (Harris likes Plaud) can be placed on a phone or clipped to clothing to record every word spoken, and Plaud can transcribe 112 languages.
Harris cautioned users to become familiar with and observe recording laws in their jurisdictions, especially when it comes to recording people anonymously. “So be careful out there,” he said, noting that its important to be cautious about what you say going forward, regardless. “You may not own any AI note taking devices yet, but somebody else may,” he said. “In the near future, I would assume that every meeting you go into is being recorded.”
It’s definitely a new world. Heath Allard, a vice president with Climate Engineers in Eldridge, Iowa, said, “I enjoyed this session because AI just seems to be top of mind with everybody.”
Have questions about AI? SMACNA AI Office Hours are now available. Book a free appointment with Hugh Seaton, SMACNA’s AI consultant, to answer any question about AI, no matter how small or complex. Visit calendly.com/hseaton/smacna-office-hourse to visit Seaton’s Calendly page and set up a 30-minute appointment. ■
Geoff Williams is a freelance journalist and author, specializing in business and personal finance, based out of Loveland, Ohio. He has written for cnnmoney.com and the Wall Street Journal’s Buy Sidewould, among other well-known publications.
