“How many of you have heard of ChatGPT?” was the question asked to the foremen attending the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association (PHCC) Educational Foundation’s popular Super Foremen Workshop. Purdue University Professor Emeritus Kirk Alter posed the question to the 26 attendees in the two-day class conducted May 5 and 6 at the Viega Seminar Center in Broomfield, Colorado. A few attendees had heard of ChatGPT, but none had used it.

“Foremen in our industry are comfortable with the tools that they keep in the jobsite box,” said Alter in the class. “But as the first line of company management, please realize that your best tools now are going to be technology and software. Artificial intelligence, A.I., is one of those software tools that foremen should be using. You just haven’t seen why yet.” Alter then led the class through entering prompts into the platform, generating helpful output.