I saw an interesting article in the Observer newspaper this weekend with the title “As the AI Jobs Armageddon approaches, it seems that only plumbers are safe …”
Whilst I don’t agree with the scary headline, it is true to say that Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is changing our world in ways we haven’t even begun to realise yet. Whether that amounts to ‘Armageddon’ remains to be seen!
But one thing does jump out to me from the article … There are some jobs that artificial intelligence simply can’t do and, although the article focuses on plumbing, I would argue that in reality, this also extends to a lot of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) jobs.
We shouldn’t fear AI as it will bring improvements.
Ben Bartle-Ross Technical trainer at Mitsubishi Electric
Physical limits for AI
The article quotes Geoffrey Hinton the Nobel prize-winning academic who warns that a lot of ‘intellectual and office-based jobs will be replaced by AI, however, the technology will find it harder to excel at physical manipulation’.
Don’t get me wrong though, I’m no Luddite calling for the abolition of AI and trying to stop inevitable progress.
I know that there are areas in our industry that will definitely benefit from AI, so I think we should embrace the technology and use it to best effect in areas such as number-crunching, data mining and forecasting.
I’m also pretty certain that it could be incredibly useful in designing systems and maximising efficiency while minimising plant size.
Number crunching
We’ve just launched a case study on a 10-storey office block in Manchester where very localised weather data from the past decade helped the designers match the heating load for the building but reduce the number of commercial heat pumps needed.
Not only did this reduce the upfront costs of replacing the building’s gas boilers, it also helped the office block achieve an EPC rating of ‘B’.
Using AI to explore past weather data could automate a lot of this work and mean that more systems are designed to deliver the comfort levels needed for the building occupants, while the number of external ‘boxes’ is kept to a minimum.
Now you might find it strange for an equipment manufacturer to advocate for less of our products, but we realise that it is actually the right thing to do. We plan to continue supporting people with the right equipment, based on the needs of the building.
And in a similar way, I advocate embracing AI, rather than fighting against it.
The ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus is quoted as saying that "the only constant in life is change," so we know nothing stands still … and AI is making rapid advances in ways we can’t even begin to understand yet.
But we shouldn’t fear it, as it will bring improvements.
AI is another tool in your toolbox
At the moment though, AI cannot install, commission, or maintain a HVAC system.
However, AI could for example really help HVAC engineers on the admin side of a job which can really free up your time to get actual physical work done.
Why not give it a go? Use an AI tool to work out your required equipment list for your next installation, based on previous jobs.
Depending on the information you feed it, you’ll find that it will probably get most of it correct but not all of it. Then you go from being an author to being an editor, which is so much faster and keeps you in control of the overall job … and in a job!
So, whilst little in life is certain, if you or someone you know is looking for a ‘future-proof’ career, then I’d strongly suggest they get their hands on the ‘tools’ and train for a life in the HVAC industry.
They could do worse than start by looking at training courses.
Ben Bartle-Ross is a technical trainer at Mitsubishi Electric
