AI integration and employment in construction: Exploring positive and destructive effects through a PLS-SEM lenss

This research examines how artificial intelligence (AI) integration has affected employment in China’s construction industry. This research builds on the theories of skill-biased technological change and creative destruction to study how AI influences both positive and negative employment effects that later influence overall employment. The report confirms, based on the survey data and by using PLS-SEM, that AI introduction results in both job growth and job losses for managerial-level employees. In addition, whether an organization is ready greatly affects how these relationships play out, improving good outcomes and reducing the bad ones. It is clear from the findings that preparing a strategy helps make the most of AI and alleviate its risks. The study contributes to a more detailed view of AI’s effects on jobs and supplies ideas for sustaining both innovation and employment.