What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Spoiler alert: Nothing. This bible verse has endured over the centuries as a reminder that we can't put our price tag on what matters most. Yet, time and again, businesses have put profits above all -- leading our world to the brink of a climate catastrophe, an inequality crisis, and the greatest extinction of other creatures since the dinosaurs (except this time, the meteor is us). Can we align growing returns with the greater good? Former investment banker turned business ethicist Dr. Dawn Carpenter believes we can -- and that figuring out how just might save the world. In What Does It Profit, Dawn talks with the world's leading thinkers and researchers, entrepreneurs and executives, exploring the most innovative ways we can reconcile capitalism's demand for profit with the long term well-being of people and the planet. From socially responsible investing to conscious consumerism to business ethics in this age of extremes, Dawn is your guide to the cutting-edge ideas and experiments driving the purpose-driven business revolution. What Does It Profit?
http://www.whatdoesitprofitpodcast.com
episode 3: Hard Hats to Hard Drives | How AI is Revolutionizing Construction
In this episode, Dr. Dawn examines the newest addition to the construction industry’s toolbox: AI technology. In this episode, we learn that AI is like a double-edged sword: While AI technology certainly threatens jobs in the construction industry, it’s also ushering in a new era of efficiency and safety.
We begin this episode in conversation with Bella McCann, the president of the woman-owned and Washington, D.C.-based construction company, Cann Construction. McCann takes us to a renovation site to provide a look at how new technologies make on-site work more efficient and safer for workers.
We also hear from Jim Urtz, the national apprenticeship director with the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), on what the adoption of AI means for the future of jobs in construction. While Urtz has concerns about the potential of technology to replace people, he also details how AI technology can improve working conditions in a high-risk industry and widen the scope of employment opportunities for younger generations in an industry traditionally viewed as one only for the strongest of men.
The adoption of AI technology in the construction industry encourages us to ask the question: In the work we do, in the things we buy, in the investments we make, what does it profit?
WDIP is powered by the Solidarity Economy Workshop at Georgetown University. Engage with us on LinkedIn. We'd love to get to know you. Thanks for listening!