Artificial intelligence in construction industry: Evolutionary analysis of technology convergence

The swift evolution of digital technology has spurred numerous industries to enhance their innovation competencies. The construction industry, characterized by low levels of digitalization, is in dire need of incorporating digital technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is the preeminent technology in the field of digitalization, and its integration with construction technologies is expected to yield innovative achievements. However, the majority of extant research concerning the implementation of AI technologies in construction is based on analyses of scholarly papers and literature reviews. Only a limited number of studies employ quantitative patent data to explore the convergence degree of AI and construction technology. This paper measures the degree of technological convergence using patent data and graph convolutional neural networks (GCN) based on patents. The spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of technological convergence in the AI and construction fields are analyzed. Technology convergence degree is studied to identify key fields that promote the convergence of AI technology and construction technology. This study improves the relevant theoretical methods for identifying technological convergence and can help industry regulators focus on AI and construction technology c