Author: Peggy Smedley

Is AI (artificial intelligence) all it is hyped up to be? New research suggests the answer is both yes and no. Today let’s dig into what is happening with enterprise adoption of AI—and perhaps more importantly what is not happening. This new research comes from IBM, which surveyed a representative sample of 8,584 IT professionals in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, UAE, UK, U.S., and LATAM (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru). To participate, respondents had to be employed full-time, work at companies with more than 1 employee, work in a manager…

With the rise of consumerization, products aim to create a more personalization experience for each user. In fact, McKinsey & Co., suggests 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions—and 76% get frustrated when this doesn’t happen. Let’s be honest, since the emergence of digitalization we are a society that expects products now, in every size, shape, and color. Companies that do deliver personalization will grow faster and drive 40% more revenue from personalization. Here’s the challenge: While delivering this, companies must also keep sustainability top of mind. In recent years we have seen a real focus by consumers…

For years, I have been espousing the need for standards in the smart home—something homebuyers desperately need if they are going to gain any sort of interoperability among all their appliances and devices. A smart home is truly only smart if devices can “talk” to each other to improve the functionality in the home such as temperature, lighting, and home theatre, just to name a few. Builders that want to remain competitive in today’s tight market must consider how home technologies fit into the building and sales equation—otherwise homebuyers are going to turn to the competitors who can provide the…

Walking the show floor at CES always points to the biggest trends in technology. It is always a good indicator of what is to come in the year ahead. Last year, we saw the continued rise of digital health, connected, cars, and smart homes, just to name a few. This year, much talk is squarely centered around AI (artificial intelligence), sustainability, and greater mobility, as people are returning to work and travel in droves, with eyes peeled on the future. It’s no surprise then some of the biggest announcements from this year’s show surround mobility and sustainability. A few examples…

AI (artificial intelligence) offers all kinds of benefits to the construction industry. Chiefly, being able to leverage data for predictive and prescriptive maintenance can help with many aspects of construction from preconstruction through to operations. Global Market Insights puts AI in construction growth predictions at 20% between 2023 and 2032. In comparison, Mordor Intelligence similarly suggests the AI in construction market is estimated at $3.99 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $11.85 billion by 2029, which is a 24.31% growth rate. As Mordor Intelligence suggests, artificial intelligence and machine learning can help with the entire process including design,…

Many people have rung in New Year with the mission to improve their overall health and lifestyle, which often includes weight loss. New research suggests AI (artificial intelligence) can help with chronic care and weight loss. For instance, AI can help healthcare providers optimize treatment plans by assessing the efficacy of different interventions and offering suggestions for changes based on individual responses. Ultimately, this could reduce the chance of repercussions connected to chronic conditions. GlobalData points to one example: the virtual program that Welldoc provides to people with type 2 diabetes. The results are impressive too. More than 77% of…

As the New Year continues to unfold, what trends will take hold in our homes? How will living look different in the year ahead than in previous years? This is the question the ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) aims to answer in its Trends Outlook Preview: Top Trends for 2024. Let’s unravel all these trends to get to the bottom of what this really means for each of us. First, we need to live with and learn from Generation Z. This is something I have been touting since I published my book Sustainable in a Circular World. Gen Z…

“The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it. It isn’t something you await, but rather create.” Those words come from the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed. As new workers and new technologies come to fruition such as generative AI (artificial intelligence), ChatGPT, metaverse, AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), and more, we must consider how we live, work, and play with this new technology in new and exciting ways. This is precisely what was discussed on a futurist online webinar I attended just this past December. The sublime panelist discussion was strong in sharing…

As we head into 2024, we know many are predicting the steady rise of adoption of AI (artificial intelligence) will continue in many industries, including construction. In fact, some put the dollar amount at roughly $1.3 trillion. Bloomberg Intelligence, for instance, suggests the generative AI market is poised to explode, growing to $1.3 trillion in the next 10 years from a market size of just $40 billion in 2022. The report suggests growth could expand at a rate of 42%. If these numbers are even remotely on track, the bottomline is whatever prediction you look at the trend is the…

As we have discussed many times here, there are advantages to solar, but sometimes they also come with a cost. The bottomline, though, is that many communities continue to roll out more solar, to reduce emissions, as homes are expected to become the single largest consumer of electricity and therefore one of the largest contributors of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Consider the example of PearlX, which is headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., and has deployed many solar projects across the South. The company will often partner with multifamily owners to deploy future-proof infrastructure and create economic benefits for communities. The…