Using digital tools to respond to infrastructure challenges

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Nexus, Publish By GHD.

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Where ideas connect.

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Hi everyone.

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I'm Michelle Cramer, GHD,
Future Communities lead for Australia.

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Today I'm excited to be joined by Brendan
Langfield,

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GHD, leader of our Simulation
and Decision Science team.

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Brendan has been using data and analytics
to design innovative solutions

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across both public and private sectors
for almost a decade.

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He's a strong advocate of systems thinking
and the advantages

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of integrating multiple disciplines
to tackle complex problems.

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Great to have you on.

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today, Brendan.

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Thanks for having me, Michel.

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Fishing setting.

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We at GHD embarked on a crossroads
research to test the unsettling hypothesis

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that we run the very real risk
of passing on to future generations.

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I built a natural world, climate
and quality of life that is inferior

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to our own.

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So at this critical juncture,
we asked ourselves, how can we course

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correct and chart a path forward
that leads to a positive legacy?

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And to do that, we focused on exploring

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intergenerational equity
through an infrastructure lens.

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Crossroads
involves surveying more than 10,000 people

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across ten countries to canvass
a broad cross-section of the population.

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Through that research, we uncovered
multi-generational perspectives,

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preferences and priorities and discovered
the three pressing issues common across

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all geographies and generations
for environmental concerns.

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Cost of living pressures
and transport challenges.

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The idea of intergenerational equity
is about fairness and justice

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across all generations, including those
who have not yet been born.

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The first insight
that is apparent in the crossroads

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data is the difference in optimism across
different age cohorts,

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with older generations
less positive about the future.

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Brendan, I'm curious about what that means
for a digital and data perspective.

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I wonder if you could unpack that.

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That is very interesting, Michel.

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And when I first saw the research,
I also thought it was counterintuitive.

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You know, my gut tells me

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that older generations
should probably be more positive because,

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you know,
the younger generations are the ones

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who will bear the brunt of the challenges
that we're now facing.

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You know,

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younger generations are the ones that are,
you know, going to have to really battle

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through the the challenges that we've had
responding to climate change.

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You know, the density,

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housing affordability issues are impacting
the young, both the old and etc..

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So it's it's an interesting finding,
but I think,

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when I reflect a little opponent,
I can probably tell us

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more about the future
than the current state. So,

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you know, optimism in young people,
I think, is born from a pretty

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tangible shift
in things like climate policy

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and the way we were responding
to the challenges recently.

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You know,
I can think back to 10 or 15 years ago

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and still felt like
we were having arguments

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about whether climate change was real or
not, but like whether we should respond.

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And I think we started to see response
happen, albeit,

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of course, perhaps a little too late
and maybe not the magnitude we need.

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But we've seen change,
so there is some optimism being born

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from that observation
that things are shifting.

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And, you know, we've seen

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technology and data, enable
very rapid changes.

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And so I think, you know, younger people
have probably got a lot of optimism for,

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for the possibilities.

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As long as we're
all heading in the same direction,

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we've all got the same ambitions.

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And then for,

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you know, older generations,
what we're really talking about is change.

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And change is hard.

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And change is hardest
when you've got an established routine

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or way of doing things.

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So, you know, it's much harder
for someone in their 50s

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to get out of their car
and get on a bike than it is,

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you know,

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for someone in primary school
to learn how to do it and get on before

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they've got those established practices,
for example.

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So that concept of change being hard,
I think is really

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what's coming through in those results.

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And our older generations are really going
to go through a rapid period of change

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so that we can enable that future we need.

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And perhaps

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our younger generations are more ready
and equipped to deal with that change.

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I think.

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I think that's really

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interesting, that idea of digital natives,
if you like, this key idea

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about digital disruption and
and who actually holds the keys to that.

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So I'm keen for your perspectives
on that idea of digital disruption or

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better still, maybe digital enablement
that comes from those younger generations.

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And is this a way that we can get closer
to intergenerational equity?

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Yeah, I think, you know, we've

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we've certainly moved to a state where

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those digital natives are now
in a position of power, if you will.

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You know, we feel that people
who grew up with the internet and grew up

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with social media and pretty advanced
technology now, you know,

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running companies and sitting strategies
and in charge of implementing policies.

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So those people are now
starting to look a lot more to data

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and technology to help solve the problems
or point them in the right direction.

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So that transition from the shock
and novelty of what

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data and tech can do for us
has moved to an expectation

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that we will use data and technology,
and analytics and, you know,

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best scientific practices
to actually get the right solution

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instead of maybe getting it wrong,

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instead of maybe using people's opinions
or or being swayed by anyone's

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particular motivation.

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So that's a really

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I think it's shifting us into

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that direction of where digital and data
are going to be more important,

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I think, than ever, in helping transition.

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You know, I've spoken to,

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you know, people who are, you know,
CEOs of organizations who are running it,

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who are in, for example, the concept
of just responding to a challenge.

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Let's say
an asset outage is no longer adequate.

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We want to respond proactively,
you know, pre-service.

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And I said before
it goes down, for example,

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and that's only possible
with the assistance of AI

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and technology to help us understand
and predict events before they happen.

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So, you know, it's real and it's here
and we're starting to expect it to be used

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more often to make good decisions.

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And I'm glad that you brought up AI,
because it was going to be my next

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question to you around
how we can really use

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AI in this transition
and build on the intergenerational trends.

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So what learnings from Crossroads Data
do you think might assist us

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in harnessing
AI, towards a more equitable future?

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I mean, AI is obviously

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the the hottest thing right now
when you're talking tech.

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And, you know, for me, the first thing
I like to point out whenever I have

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this discussion is that we shouldn't
put every type of AI in the same bucket.

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You know, we're we're all enamored
right now with large language models.

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And I think you can interact
with deliberately.

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But, you know, we've got AI systems
embedded throughout our whole of society

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that have been and will continue

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to help us improve things
and run more efficiently into the future.

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So, you know, for example, in crossroads,
there was a question there

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about, expectation for things
like smart traffic lights and intelligent

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transport systems
improving flow and reducing congestion.

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And in some countries, more than 90%
of people agree that they expect that,

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you know, we expect intelligent
transport systems to improve, our roads.

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So Halo
is going to be significant in our lives.

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And it already is.

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You know, we want to get to that point
where, you know,

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right now we have what feels like
pretty archaic signaling rules.

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For example, in some places where it's
just a set timing, you know, it doesn't

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account for how much traffic is there
or how much traffic is not there.

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And in some places, we're already
using much more smarter systems than that

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where we've got, you know, real time
recognition of traffic build up,

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you responding really rapidly,
and that will be the standard

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as we move into the future.

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Because it's better for everybody,

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but it is not going to solve everything.

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You know, we've seen in California
of speaking to a colleague there recently,

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telling me that robo taxis,
you know, not a futuristic thing

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that might be here in 20 years time, like,
I think that's here right now.

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So in California, you can call a taxi
and there's

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no one driving, and you get in
and it takes you where you need to go.

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You know, of course,
I'm sure the service routes are limited

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and can't go everywhere,
but it's a thing and it's here.

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And so we have to get used
to we have to leverage in.

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But you know, technology's
going to solve all problems as well.

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So I remember reading a report by Harvard
on the predicted efficiencies

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gained by autonomous vehicles,
whether they have a driver in them or not.

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But, you know, the concept of,
you know, platooning,

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if you will, where you've got many cars,
small

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tailgating essentially,
but doing it safely

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because they're controlled by computers
that are talking to each other.

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You know, that concept,
has a lot of efficiencies.

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It can be gained.

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And, this Harvard
study said there was potential to increase

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the efficiencies on our roads by 35%,
which is a lot and sounds great,

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but we also know at the same language
driving more than we ever have.

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If you look for example,
at, trips to school, which is something

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I've been investigating recently,
in Australia in the last 30 years, it's

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dropped from,
in the order of 70 to 80% of people

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using active modes to get to school,
and now it's less than 20.

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In some states, it's less than 15%.

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So the rest are driving.

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So you take maybe I was saying 35%.

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We are putting
significantly more cars on the roads.

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So I in tech absolutely will help us.

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And it's going to have to.

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But I think maybe even more than that,
it's non-tech.

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And and the way
we decide to use our tech, you know, our

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common incentives and motivators
and actually deciding on the future

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we want, that's really going to drive us
to, to get to where we need to be.

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I'm so fascinated by this idea
that the future is actually now,

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and that these technologies
that we thought were,

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you know, five years ago
were 25 years away, are now

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only five years away or two years away,
or maybe just around the corner.

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Thank you so much for chatting to me
today, Brendan.

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I've learned a few things,
including that there's a digital and data

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overlay to those differences
and perspectives that are coming out of

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different generations,
which I think is really interesting,

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especially around the optimism
apparent in our data, is a real benefit

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in our digital natives
leading a path to digital enablement.

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They have the tools
and they have the familiarity.

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And, we should be enabling them.

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That pathway.

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And then this great idea
about how we actually ban

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a balanced digital enablement,
with that human need pace,

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I think is really interesting
and something for us all to take on board.

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So many
thanks again for your valuable insights

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today, Brendan, and I can't wait
to continue this conversation.

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Thanks, Michel.

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Brought to you by Nexus, Publish By GHD.

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Where ideas connect