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representation is unequitable and undermines capability. A profession that draws on a narrow set of life experiences will, over time, build narrower solutions.
I have sat in design reviews where the question that unlocked the problem came from someone asking,‘ why are we doing it this way?’ Diverse teams tend to produce that questioning culture. They are quicker to flag the assumption everyone else has accepted.
That is the value women add to engineering intelligence. It is a different kind of scrutiny. It is a commitment to question the model and bring in the constructability, end-user and maintenance perspectives. Critical thinking, applied across disciplines, turns automated data into something a client can actually build and operate safely.
Buildings deserve the best
The structures we are responsible for should benefit from everything technology can offer. They also need engineers with diverse outlooks and practical experience who know when to trust AI output, when to challenge it and when to go back on site for‘ one last look’.
That combination sits at the heart of true engineering skill and intelligence. It is human, it is hard-won and it is the one thing a software update can’ t replace. ■
Surabhi Prasad www. perega. co. uk
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