The ongoing discussion about the impact of AI and data-driven business models suggests a future in which the traditional role of general contractors will undergo substantial changes.
Coincidentally, I just read two takes on this question: one from Ryan Kunisch, Oracle’s VP of Global Product, and another in a new Building 2030 research report. They both suggest that the future GCs are no longer project and subcontractor managers, but “orchestrators.”
Ecosystem orchestration
The most significant shift identified in the Building 2030 research is the emergence of the “ecosystem orchestrator.” Rather than simply managing a list of independent subcontractors, the modern general contractor will sit at the center of a complex web. It integrates traditional partners with new technology-focused collaborators, such as data analysts, robotics experts, and ethical AI auditors.
This new role demands that contractors move beyond a “toolbox” mentality, where AI is used for isolated tasks, and adopt a top-down strategy that reconfigures the entire business model. Kunisch writes that, “The future isn’t about digitizing old processes, but about building a new operating model from the ground up. “
Curing “chronic amnesia” through data
A critical challenge these new models address is “project amnesia,” or the loss of vital “silent knowledge” when a project team disperses. By curating high-quality data from every site, general contractors can build a permanent digital institutional memory. This data-centric approach enables a “self-operating” model in which AI agents flag schedule deviations and performance trends in real time, well before they escalate into costly delays.
The Building 2030 report also highlights that general-purpose AI is often insufficient for the nuanced needs of construction. However, the research shows that customized AI assistants tailored to specific domains, such as hospital construction, can be developed in as little as 120 work hours, significantly improving answer reliability compared to standard commercial models.
The human-in-the-loop requirement
Despite rapid automation, human expertise remains a cornerstone of the construction site. The concept of “human-in-the-loop” is essential for ensuring safety, verifying complex legal compliance, and making high-level ethical decisions.
As AI takes over repetitive “bulk work” such as material takeoff and schedule optimization, the general contractor’s value shifts toward high-level system design and empathetic leadership. It also reduces the risk of cost and schedule overruns by identifying problems in advance and warning of hazardous developments.
Ultimately, the future of the general contractor lies in “AI-as-a-Service” (AlaaS). In this advanced stage, contractors will not only build physical structures. They will also sell the proprietary, data-derived insights they have gathered, turning their institutional knowledge into a recurring subscription-based revenue stream.
Support from a new study
Interestingly, Dodge Construction Network, in partnership with CMiC, just released AI for Contractors, a new research report examining how AI is reshaping the construction industry. It seems to back Oracle’s and Building 2030’s predictions.
The comprehensive study reveals that 87% of contractors believe AI will have a meaningful impact on construction, with many predicting extensive industry-wide transformation. This is the sentiment, despite low current AI adoption rates.
Who will move first?
The early movers will be contractors who already think beyond individual projects. They work with repeat clients, manage portfolios rather than one-off jobs, and see data as a strategic asset instead of project exhaust. For them, AI is not an IT experiment but a way to coordinate ecosystems, aligning owners, designers, suppliers, and trades around shared data and smarter decisions.
Newcomers and challengers may move even faster. They are unburdened by legacy systems and entrenched habits and can build AI-native operating models from the ground up. They are willing to experiment early, accept uncertainty, and learn faster than the industry. Once the business benefits become visible, others will follow, but the first advantage will already be real.
In any case, it is good to remember the empirical “law” of the Finnish academic Osmo A. Wiio: “the near future is overestimated, and the far future is underestimated.”
The authors of the Building 2030 research report are Roope Nyqvist, Tuomas Valkonen, and Antti Peltokorpi. You can download the report in Finnish.
The ENR article titled “2026 Oracle Construction Predictions: Cloud as the Foundation, AI the Brain, Data the Lifeblood” is available at enr.com.
