ChatGPT: Is

Adam Ding, PQS

Remember the days of using Yahoo! to search the internet in the 1990s? Fast forward to present day and Googling the answer seems to be the current norm… Until ChatGPT came out!

While the construction industry is not necessarily an early adopter of technologies, it makes sense for quantity surveyors, the selected professionals equipped with specialized education and experience, to be the first to examine the impacts of these emerging technologies. On the education front, I will try to take a shot from the perspective of knowledge learning and training.

ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chatbot launched in November 2022 by OpenAI, an AI (Artificial Intelligence) research laboratory. Essentially, it is an online robot that can have conversations with you and not only answer questions, but also you solve problems. For example, it can develop and debug computer programs, compose music, write poetry, play games and even simulate an ATM! The public has welcomed ChatGPT with open arms. It is now officially the fastest-growing consumer application in history and has notched over 100 million monthly active users just two months after release. At the time of writing, ChatGPT Plus, a commercial version for businesses, is also on the horizon.

I tried ChatGPT a few times and was very impressed by comparing results with my own knowledge. Its perfect answers to generic questions like “create 3D models for earthwork quantities using REVIT” made me wonder: was there an AutoDesk rep hiding behind this robot? But when I posed more specific tasks such as, “Create an Excel spreadsheet file for heavy construction project tender with tabs of labour and equipment hourly rates as input for users and summarize prices for labour, equipment, material and subcontractor for work scope items in one tab,” the robot was listing every step and procedure in amazing detail, almost identical to that which I used to do for a living. I then tried, “Write a script to describe the similarities and differences between the United States and Canadian construction estimating.” Taking the robot’s answer, I was even able to generate a video ready for YouTube posting, all within half an hour! Now I am really concerned that it might take my job…

ChatGPT could apparently be a great learning tool. For quantity surveyors, whether you have some knowledge questions or need quick solutions to technical problems at hand, ChatGPT can provide much-needed assistance – but would it replace humans? While nobody can foresee the future, the rule of thumb is that since a machine is created by humans, it has no human judgment ability. In the construction context, ChatGPT does not know your project specifics, does not visit your job site and is unaware of the challenges you face for scope, budget, schedule, quality and safety. Yes, for now, ChatGPT is just a tool. Cost planning and project monitoring are performed by quantity surveyors, so they are still required to go through a structured education route combining formal curriculum and practical experience. TPE markers will certainly have to be vigilant since ChatGPT can write case studies.

For those who would like to try ChatGPT, please visit openai.com/blog/chatgpt to ask your own unique questions for the AI to answer. Try it and have fun!

Access to ChatGPT is free, and its creator, OpenAI, is a registered non-profit organization, so this article is not sponsored by any external party, and the author receives no compensation.