Why cutting-edge technologies require considered adoption

New technologies geared towards enhancing productivity are being rolled out across multiple sectors and industries, including civil engineering. But as with any new technology, risks exist and so does the challenge of adopting new systems safely. The safe adoption of these technologies depends on the implementation of stringent standards, risk management and training so that the experience and expertise of engineers continue to be the driving force of a project’s success.

Civil engineers should therefore ensure that they are approaching new technologies in a way that complements their abilities, without risking harm.

The emergence of new technologies such as automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) – among others – can reduce harm and speed up decision-making in civil engineering projects. However, these new technologies also introduce new hazards, and history shows that poorly-governed innovation can introduce new forms of harm. Now, the question is no longer whether these emerging technologies will be adopted, but how safely and on whose terms.

When discussing safety in relation to emerging technology, there is an important distinction to be made:

• “Safety tech” refers to technology designed specifically to improve safety, including apps, wearables and collaborative robots (cobots).
• Whereas “safe tech” means ensuring technology introduced for other reasons, such as improving productivity, is safe in practice and does not introduce unmanaged new risks.

Many examples of safety tech currently lack strong data-backed evidence for their effectiveness. For safe tech, there is also a requirement for robust, context-specific evidence, as well as ongoing monitoring and governance, to establish safety for continued implementation. While new tech may introduce potential risks, safety tech may help mitigate them.

At present, regulation and research are not keeping pace with technological change meaning organisations struggle to navigate safe implementation of emerging technology. This is one issue the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Global Safety Evidence Centre aims to help solve. The Centre collates, creates and communicates evidence, including independent research and cross-sector learning in one space, while reinforcing the importance of foresight and evidence moving in step with technological evolution.

The Centre’s recent report, The Impact of Emerging Technology on Safety at Work, specifically focuses on this area and examines how these rapidly developing technologies are reshaping worker safety.

The report found that although emerging technologies such as AR, virtual reality (VR), smartphone apps, wearables, algorithmic management (AI-driven systems that automate or influence managerial decisions), cobots and emotional AI (technology that detects and responds to human emotions) offer clear potential to reduce harm, the current evidence base of safe deployment is patchy and uneven, with newer tools lacking high‑quality studies. Additionally, much of the existing research comes from high‑income countries and focuses on a limited range of occupations, leaving significant knowledge gaps about real‑world safety impacts. These evidence gaps are dangerous: they lead to human-machine interaction risks and safety blind spots.

Findings also show that while some technologies show early signs of improving safety, particularly apps and AR/VR training, others may introduce unintended risks, affecting wellbeing, work relationships or psychological safety. Take the example of the newly-coined phenomenon of “app overload” in the workplace, which refers to the process of employees switching between several apps. Early research indicated that this can lead to a loss of focus, lower cognition and decreased productivity across the organisation. To address this, critical industries, such as those in which civil engineers operate, require robust evaluations, a better understanding of unintended consequences, and closer collaboration between researchers, regulators, industry and workers.

While the implementation of new technology must be balanced with worker safety, it’s important not to lose sight of the opportunities also available. Regulated and monitored safety technology can lead to reduced exposure to hazardous environments, reduced human error and ultimately fewer accidents – enabled by sensors, wearables, robotics and decision-support tools.

It’s the new and unknown risks that prove the most difficult to manage. These risks could expose an organisation’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities, as well as privacy and data-surveillance concerns. One pressing concern is the inadvertent cultivation of an over-reliance on AI and other technologies, resulting in reduced situational awareness and skill erosion of talented engineers. That’s why continuous, up-to-date training is imperative to ensure engineers can override or correct technology when needed.

Ultimately, invaluable engineering expertise, judgement and human oversight will remain essential to the safe and effective adoption of any technology into civil engineering, especially in the age of AI.

Many organisations already exist to help industries navigate this evolving landscape and to mitigate new risks, such as The Safetytech Accelerator. An independent, autonomous entity established by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, it is the first technology accelerator dedicated to safety-critical industries. It helps organisations identify, test and scale technologies that improve safety, resilience and sustainability across sectors such as construction, energy and critical infrastructure. It acts as a bridge between industry challenges and innovative technology solutions, supporting safer, more effective adoption of emerging tools.

Standards act as enablers of trust, scale and interoperability. They function as guardrails, keeping civil engineers and those that benefit from their projects protected from significant risk. Without standards, technology adoption remains fragile and potentially harmful.

Engineers also need data and evidence that demonstrates the use case of emerging technologies and their effectiveness. This will then allow industry bodies and key stakeholders to accurately assess the impact of technologies and implement effective, safe ways of working. In support of this, Lloyd’s Register Foundation has launched a foresight review examining the safe adoption of AI, looking at worker and environmental safety as well as infrastructure resilience.

As new technologies become established, those that adopt them must shoulder some portion of the responsibility for their impact. For civil engineers, this means adhering to standards, undertaking training when available, and fostering a culture of cautious optimism regarding any new technology. At every step, from initial trials to full implementation, human expertise must have established mechanisms by which it can override the decisions or actions taken by any new technology.

Emerging technologies and AI adoption into civil engineering should be governed and informed by humans, for humans. By ensuring humans are involved and evidence-based training is implemented, engineers can use new technologies to their advantage while feeling confident they remain in control.

Find out more about how these emerging technologies are impacting safety at work by downloading the full Global Safety Evidence Centre report here.