Enhancing Data Privacy in Construction: Lessons Learned from Healthcare

In the construction industry, we often encounter feedback from field workers who express their concerns about being recorded. Construction workers are concerned about their data privacy, which is also important in other fields, such as medicine. We are extremely curious to know how they tackle data privacy issues in developing AI solutions.

We recently had the opportunity to attend a fireside chat, “AI and human values,” led by Fei-Fei Li, a distinguished AI professor from Stanford University, and Eric Horvitz, Microsoft’s Chief Scientific Officer.  During the discussion, Li shared some lessons learned from their interesting AI research in the medical field that could be applied to the construction industry.  In their research, they developed an AI solution designed explicitly for hospital nurses.  The research involved the placement of cameras in patient rooms that gathered data on the interactions between nurses and patients.  This approach, however, created a significant obstacle: the issue of patients’ data privacy.

How did Stanford researchers overcome this obstacle?  They took a proactive stance by assembling a diverse team of stakeholders, including nurses, patients, legal experts, AI scientists, and more. The purpose of this collaboration was to delve into the privacy issue and brainstorm effective solutions.

Ultimately, the team undertook substantial changes to their methodology. They transitioned from using cameras to employing depth sensors, adjusted their AI algorithms, and restructured the design of the AI system. By prioritizing privacy considerations from the very beginning, they demonstrated the importance of responsibly collecting, analyzing, and visualizing data in projects of this nature. Their research serves as a valuable lesson:  Privacy should never be an afterthought but rather a crucial aspect that must be considered upfront.  As it is in medicine, data privacy in construction is crucial, for it ensures the safety and productivity of workers.