“Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Construction Industry”

Call for Papers – Special Issue: “Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Construction Industry”

Journal: Artificial Intelligence for a Sustainable Built Environment
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Submission deadline: 15 September 2026

Overview

This special issue—published by Emerald—addresses a critical, under-investigated frontier in the built environment: the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. While AI adoption is surging in construction, formal ethical investigation has lagged behind other sectors like finance and general technology. As international policy frameworks (e.g., the EU AI Act) and the rise of advanced "World Models" create new governance requirements, the construction industry must develop a proactive ethical framework to address transparency, accountability, and the workforce impact of automated systems.

Key Research Themes

• Governance & Regulation: Navigating international and regional policy landscapes for AI in construction.

• Trust & Transparency: Establishing "explainable AI" (XAI) standards to foster trust among project stakeholders.

• Privacy & Liability: Managing data ownership, security, and the legal responsibility for automated project decisions.

• Bias & Inclusivity: Ensuring AI systems do not reinforce existing biases in construction workflows or project outcomes.

• Workforce Impact: Mitigating the social and economic effects of AI-driven automation on the construction labor force.

• Agentic AI & World Models: Ethical implications of autonomous agentic systems and large-scale world modeling in project delivery.

Submission Details

• Submission deadline: 15 September 2026.

• Submission portal: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/aisbe

• Special Instructions: You must select the special issue title from the dropdown menu in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to” during the submission process.

• Abstract Submission: Note that there is an abstract deadline of 15 July 2027 listed in the journal call, but given the manuscript deadline is 15 September 2026, it is strongly recommended that you contact the Guest Editors directly regarding your submission intent or abstract if you are planning to submit for the current cycle.

• Contact: Dr. Marzia Bolpagni (Marzia2.Bolpagni@northumbria.ac.uk)

Guest Editor Team

• Dr. Marzia Bolpagni, Northumbria University (Marzia2.Bolpagni@northumbria.ac.uk)

• Prof. Angelo Luigi Camillo Ciribini, University of Brescia (angelo.ciribini@unibs.it)

Why This Issue Matters

The construction industry is at a pivotal moment. The rapid integration of AI offers massive potential for efficiency, but without a robust ethical grounding, it risks creating liability crises, workforce alienation, and black-box decision-making. This special issue is a vital step toward creating a responsible digital future for the built environment.

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