The RICS AI Standard: What It Means for QSs and the Future of Professional Practice

In a special collaboration, we join Own the Build podcast for their 250th episode alongside the RICS. This conversation arrives at a pivotal moment: the RICS has just published its first-ever global professional standard for the responsible use of AI in surveying, coming into effect in March 2026.

Unpacking what this means for Quantity Surveyors (QS'), valuers, project professionals, software vendors and construction leaders, is:

• James Garner — Head of AI & Data at Gleeds, Chair of the Project Data Analytics Task Force, and host of Project Flux.
• Chris de Gruben — Senior Director & Head of AI at Artefact; co-chair of the RICS AI Working Group.
• Matthew Lavy — Barrister at 4 Pump Court specialising in technology disputes and AI liability.

Across this wide-ranging, practical and occasionally provocative discussion, the panel explore:

• Why the RICS created this standard now: Member demand, regulatory pressure, industry lag, and a cultural shift from “AI as a threat” to “AI as a professional tool”.
• The core pillars of responsible AI use: Risk registers, explainability, transparency to clients, PI considerations, shadow AI, enterprise-grade tools, and why “professional judgement” remains non-negotiable.
• What AI will — and won’t — replace: From AVMs and automated cost analysis to complex valuation, negotiation, context, and human judgement.
• The difference between enabling and restricting innovation: Why the RICS guidance is intentionally light-touch and principle-based, and how it avoids the rigidity of the EU AI Act.
• What this means for QSs, valuers, employers, universities and software vendors: Future training, AI literacy, cultural change, documentation, and how practitioners can protect themselves while accelerating adoption.
• The future of surveying and construction in an AI-native world: Agentic workflows, robotics, quantum computing, and the real-world impact on productivity, risk, client expectations and professional identity.
  
  

This is a landmark conversation at a turning point for the profession. If you want clarity on how AI will shape surveying, cost management and construction over the next five years — and what you should do in 2026 — this is essential listening.