How AI, Data, and Climate Reshaping What We Build Next

• 24 September 2025
• Construction Focus
• 1143 Views

Bentley Systems is offering fresh insights on how to confront the world’s infrastructure challenges through design-driven solutions powered by modern tools and technologies.

Bentley marketing manager Oana Crisan said that solutions such as digital twins, artificial intelligence (AI), and collaborative modeling software will be the new remedies for what the world is building next.

“What you choose to model today decides what you will maintain and operate tomorrow,” said Crisan.

“Good infrastructure saves time, great infrastructure saves lives, and brilliant infrastructure—the kind that’s modeled intelligently, designed collaboratively, and maintained proactively—builds freedom,” she added.

Dr. Thomas Krom from Seequent, an expert from a renowned earth and subsurface modeling company, emphasizes the importance of using tools like digital twins to better manage the Earth’s subsurface.

He said that the ground beneath our feet represents both our greatest resource and our most significant vulnerability; thus, proper management is required to maximize the benefits and minimize the risk.

“The subsurface realm holds critical resources—aquifers, lithium deposits, and geothermal energy potential—yet we’re managing it with dangerous inadequacy,” said Dr. Krom.

He added that water scarcity threatens communities globally, and critical minerals for electric vehicles and renewable energy face supply constraints. Meanwhile, recent earthquakes remind us that “we remain sitting ducks” to geological forces we can’t control but must prepare for.

Another expert who believes in AI and data-driven technology for the world’s future infrastructure is Bentley’s Vice President of Ecosystem and Ventures Tom Kurke, who stated that the industry is entering a new phase where AI will move beyond just analyzing data to actively taking action.

He suggests that AI agents could monitor digital twins of bridges or roads to recommend preventative maintenance, avoiding costly failures. Kurke believes that open data sharing is essential to this progress, allowing for seamless collaboration and innovation.

Kurke also cites open ecosystems as the key enabler. “Open data fosters access to valuable information, breaks down barriers, and enables seamless data sharing across platforms, systems, disciplines, organizations, and colleagues,” he writes.

With the geospatial market potentially reaching $1.4 trillion by 2030, open standards and collaboration between companies like Bentley, Cesium, and Google are creating unprecedented opportunities for infrastructure innovation.

Kurke concludes: “This transformative chapter will bring systems capable of analyzing digital twins of infrastructure assets—bridges, roads, dams, or water networks—to identify issues and recommend preventive action, avoiding costly breakdowns or safety hazards.”

• Digital Twin
• iTwin
• AI
• Bentley Systems
• Road and Rail