Generative AI tools are exciting, but does ChatGPT have any serious applications in practical industry? Richard Stockley, managing director at RRC International, says yes, particularly when it comes to health and safety training and education…

Generative AI is a sought-after new technology, but while it has clear applications in desk-based jobs and in administrative scenarios, it can be hard to imagine how the windows and doors industry might make use of it.

Nonetheless, I believe ChatGPT, and tools like it, will have a direct impact on the fenestration industry, particularly in occupational health and safety e-learning.

E-learning has used machine learning, a lower-level form of AI, for years now. It can serve up content based on user performance in learning modules that are somewhat interactive, and provide basic pre-written feedback when users make predictable mistakes.

While cheaper and more convenient than classroom-based learning, the main drawback of e-learning is its inability to provide valuable feedback for the specific user. Before AI, it was only in the classroom where you could ask questions and receive answers, contextual feedback and adaptive lesson planning.

ChatGPT and tools like it can bridge this gap, making e-learning much closer to the experience of learning from a human teacher. Like Duolingo Max, AI helps take what was previously a monologue to a full-blown dialogue. This means higher quality, cheaper and easier learning, which in turn could mean a safer workforce, with fewer incidents, accidents, and ill health.

Being adaptable and also cheap to deploy, AI will also allow companies to create bespoke learning modules with relative ease. This is technically a benefit, but therein lies the second edge to this metaphorical sword.

As it gets cheaper to produce e-learning, we will inevitably see a flood of home-brewed training courses that aren’t necessarily up to muster. If workforce upskilling is seen as a box-ticking exercise, actual health and safety could suffer.

It’s therefore important then that we continue to engage with experts when we attempt to harness this powerful new technology. This will allow ChatGPT to make an immediate impact within the fenestration industry and, in the long-term, this impact will be overwhelmingly positive.