It seems like everyone is talking about the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its ability to transform how we live, work, and play. The world of EHS is no different and organizations around the globe are looking to harness AI to enhance their EHS performance. However, as is often the case with new technology; perception, desire, and reality can be three entirely different things. So, what’s really possible and what’s just science fiction?
What is the perception of AI in the EHS market?
AI has many definitions, but at its core, it simulates human intelligence. This includes understanding environments, reasoning, learning from data, and problem-solving. Unlike traditional computing, which follows fixed instructions, AI adapts and improves through training, making smarter predictions and decisions over time.
Though AI can replicate human tasks, it’s not designed to replace people. Instead, it can be used to complement our own abilities like automating repetitive tasks or providing data-driven insights to support decision-making. However, AI’s broad scope has led to some confusion, often seen as a buzzword used to attract investors and customers.
In the EHS sector, software vendors are adopting AI to enhance their systems, capturing and evaluating time-sensitive data, automating manual tasks, and helping companies make safer, smarter decisions.
Key building blocks of AI start with deep learning, where data analysis helps recognize patterns. Machine learning is a more advanced form that uses algorithms to detect trends and make decisions from new data. Many modern AI applications, like NLP (natural language processing), multi modal AI, and computer vision, are built on these foundations. For example, NLP can convert speech to text, and computer vision monitors environments for safety risks.
AI offers transformative use cases in four key areas, starting with EHS data management. It helps improve data quality, streamline workflows, and aggregate information. This in turn, reduces time spent sifting through endless documents and makes it easier to spot trends and insights.
What Types of AI Are Used in EHS Market Today?
Even in its somewhat infant stages of development, AI is reshaping EHS practices with several key applications:
Workflow Optimization & Automation: AI helps streamline time-consuming tasks, like migrating data across systems, freeing up workers to focus on more important activities, improving both efficiency and overall performance.
Proactive Risk Management: AI enables a shift from reacting to incidents after they occur to preventing them altogether. By predicting risks and flagging potential hazards in advance, firms can act before accidents happen.
Regulatory Compliance Automation: AI automates the analysis of complex legal documents, summarizing key regulations and tracking updates. This helps companies stay compliant and adapt quickly to new rules, especially with growing ESG responsibilities.
A 2023 Verdantix survey across several industries revealed that while only 2% of firms were accessing and utilizing fully deployed AI, 65% of respondents were actively adopting it, with many expanding its use. Key focus areas include analyzing safety risks and reducing serious injuries, with 41% of respondents prioritizing proactive safety management. Video analytics and regulatory compliance automation are also growing in importance, streamlining previous manual processes.
For more insights from Verdantix & Cority regarding AI, check out the related webinar, Beyond the Hype: The Reality of AI’s Potential within EHS.
What Does the Market Want AI To Be?
While firms want to prioritize certain AI use cases, what’s ideal and what’s feasible often differ due to constraints like IT infrastructure, budgets, and software capabilities. Recent surveys show that while most firms are still rolling out AI or piloting it, regulatory compliance automation has become a leading use case, surpassing predictive safety analytics due to its current practicality.
The market is also eyeing Generative AI, which could create entirely new content, such as legal documents or safety recommendations. Though still in development, the focus remains on AI assisting rather than replacing workers, especially in streamlining tasks and enhancing decision-making.
Barriers like poor data quality, data privacy concerns, citing unconfirmed (and often completely fabricated) sources, and AI’s potential for errors still hinder widespread adoption. Firms must ensure clean, accurate data and be transparent about AI’s role. As AI matures, more companies will explore its potential while addressing risks like biases and cybersecurity.
Ultimately, the market sees AI evolving from process optimization to more proactive, predictive safety, and compliance tools though full-scale deployment is still in progress.
What AI Means for EHS Professionals
Even in its infancy, the potential for AI cannot be understated – and is something that EHS professionals and their organizations should be paying attention to. It can enable better connections within an organization, be it through the sharing of information, or better discovery within data. It can create the opportunity to consolidate practices, ensure data can be viewed in one place – and integrate with other data sources to streamline data visualization.
In our on-demand webinar, Beyond the Hype: The Reality of AI’s Potential within EHS, Zain Idris, EHS Analyst at Verdantix and Stuart Cook, Product Marketing Manager for Platform & Analytics at Cority discussed the EHS market’s current perception of AI, where it is being used, and giving examples of how technology is currently being leveraged in existing EHS ecosystems.
To check out the full rundown of how you can make the most of the tools and techniques available to you, watch our on-demand webinar now.
