The European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE) is pleased to announce the formal adoption of the AIDE Position Paper – Artificial Intelligence for a Digital & Ethical Civil Engineering by the 82nd ECCE General Meeting, held in Braga, Portugal.

Artificial Intelligence is increasingly influencing every stage of the construction lifecycle—from design optimisation and Building Information Modelling (BIM) to predictive maintenance, project management and infrastructure resilience. As these technologies become embedded in engineering practice, ensuring their responsible and ethical use is essential.

The AIDE Position Paper presents ECCE's vision for the responsible adoption of AI within the civil engineering profession through four guiding principles:

• Accountability
• Innovation
• Data Integrity
• Ethics

Rather than focusing solely on technological innovation, the paper highlights the importance of preserving professional judgement, public trust and engineering responsibility while embracing digital transformation. It identifies existing challenges, including fragmented adoption, skills gaps, data quality, governance and ethical considerations, and proposes a structured pathway towards coherent AI integration across Europe.

Developed through extensive consultation with ECCE members—including workshops, a Europe-wide questionnaire and contributions from the Working Groups on Education, Research & Knowledge Transfer, Societal Factors & Impact, and Industry & Enterprise Impact—the Position Paper reflects a truly collaborative European effort. It was coordinated by the ECCE Working Group chaired by the ECCE Vice President/President Elect Dr Jeanette M. Muñoz Abela.

The paper concludes with a call to European institutions, national authorities, industry, academia and professional organisations to work together in developing sector-specific guidance, strengthening professional education, supporting SMEs and ensuring that AI is implemented in a manner that is safe, transparent and aligned with engineering ethics.

Through AIDE, ECCE reaffirms its commitment to leading the profession in navigating digital transformation while ensuring that Artificial Intelligence serves society through responsible engineering.

📄 Download the AIDE Position Paper

📄 Download the AIDE Position Paper Executive Summary

ECCE Vice President/ President Elect Jeanette M. Muñoz Abela presenting the AIDE Position Paper

ECCE Vice President/ President Elect Jeanette M. Muñoz Abela presenting the AIDE Position Paper