Reinventing Construction with Data & AI with James Garner, Head of AI & Data at Gleeds

Jul 23, 2025

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Learn how Cambridge Spark can help your business transform with data and AI: https://cambridgespark.com

In this episode of Data & AI Mastery, Dr. Raoul-Gabriel Urma is joined by James Garner, Head of AI & Data at Gleeds, a global construction consultancy. Together they explore how a traditionally conservative industry is embracing data and AI to drive innovation, improve forecasting, and revolutionise operations.

James shares his remarkable journey from chartered quantity surveyor to leading Gleeds' AI and data initiatives. They discuss why domain expertise combined with data science is the new superpower — and why finding these "translators" is so hard. They also cover the importance of hackathons, experimentation, and failing fast to discover valuable AI use cases in construction. And finally they discuss why data quality matters — but isn't the blocker people think it is anymore — and why culture and continuous upskilling are the real keys to AI adoption.

Whether you’re in construction, infrastructure, energy, or just keen to see how AI is reshaping even the most traditional sectors, this conversation is packed with practical insights and future-facing perspectives.

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Chapter Markers:

(07:10) Data quality, domain expertise, and building that first model

(10:22) Taking prototypes to production

(11:28) GPT chatbots, LLMs, and the assist tool for industry knowledge

(13:48) Why hackathons and safe sandboxing accelerate innovation

(16:47) The near future: AI agents, robotics, and blockchain impact

(21:30) Worries about industry readiness and losing control to big tech

(22:57) Quickfire Round: contrarian views, magic wand problems & learning mindset