AI in Engineering: Robert Otani on How LLMs Can Make Knowledge More Accessible

As artificial intelligence reshapes how engineering firms design, deliver and maintain projects, one question is rising to the top: how do we use AI to leverage expertise and increase efficiency without losing the institutional knowledge that makes firms distinctive? In a recent ASCE Civil Engineering Source article on emerging AI roles in engineering organizations, Thornton Tomasetti Chief Technology Officer and CORE Studio leader Robert Otani shares how large language models and AI agents can help teams tap into global experience in real time. 

Otani notes that while small, co-located offices once made it easier to develop staff quickly, the firm’s expertise was effectively limited to whoever was in the room. As Thornton Tomasetti continues to grow, its expanding network of offices and disciplines creates an opportunity to connect engineers across the firm using enterprise AI, so they can query past projects, navigate complex requirements, identify lessons learned, and access specialists when and where they are needed — pointing to a near future where digital agents help answer project questions, reduce risk, and keep knowledge accessible long after projects wrap.

Read more about AI’s emerging role in engineering firms at ASCE Civil Engineering Source