Citation: Uddin, S.M.J.; Albert, A.; Ovid, A.; Alsharef, A. Leveraging ChatGPT to Aid Construction Hazard Recognition and Support Safety Education and Training. Sustainability 2023, 15, 7121. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097121 Academic Editor: Hao-Chiang Koong Lin Received: 7 March 2023 Revised: 22 April 2023 Accepted: 23 April 2023 Published: 24 April 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article Leveraging ChatGPT to Aid Construction Hazard Recognition and Support Safety Education and Training S M Jamil Uddin 1, * , Alex Albert 1 , Anto Ovid 1 and Abdullah Alsharef 2 1 Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA; alex_albert@ncsu.edu (A.A.); agnanas@ncsu.edu (A.O.) 2 Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; aalsharef@ksu.edu.sa * Correspondence: suddin@ncsu.edu Abstract: Proper hazard recognition is fundamental to effective safety management in construction workplaces. Nevertheless, poor hazard recognition levels are a widespread and persistent problem in the construction industry. For example, recent investigations have demonstrated that a significant number of workplace hazards often remain unrecognized in construction workplaces. These unrecog- nized workplace hazards often remain unmanaged and can potentially translate into devastating and unexpected safety incidents. Therefore, interventions targeted at improving hazard recognition levels are foundational to enhancing safety management in construction workplaces. The main objective of the current investigation was to examine if ChatGPT, a language model recently launched by OpenAI, can aid hazard recognition when integrated into the curriculum of students pursuing a career in the construction industry. The investigation was carried out as an experimental effort with 42 students enrolled in the construction program at a major state university in the United States. First, prior to the introduction of ChatGPT as an intervention, the pre-intervention hazard recognition ability of the students was measured. Next, ChatGPT and its capabilities were introduced to the students in a classroom setting. Guidance was also offered on how the students could leverage ChatGPT to aid hazard recognition efforts. Finally, the post-intervention hazard recognition ability of the students was measured and compared against their earlier performance. The result suggests that ChatGPT can be leveraged to improve hazard recognition levels. Accordingly, integrating ChatGPT as part of safety education and training can yield benefits and prepare the next generation of construction professionals for industry success. Keywords: ChatGPT; hazard recognition; hazard identification; education; educational intervention; safety education; safety management; occupational safety; safety training; generative AI 1. Introduction The construction industry plays a pivotal role in supporting the needs of the broader society. For example, the construction industry focuses on building and maintaining the infrastructure that we use on a daily basis [1]. This includes everything ranging from roads, bridges, and the transportation infrastructure to our homes, commercial buildings, and industrial facilities [2]. The industry also offers a career to countless workers, sup- ports economic growth, and is foundational to environmental preservation and energy production [3]. The industry is expected to play an even greater role in the coming decades as our infrastructure needs continue to expand and nations wrestle with renovating and rehabilitating the existing aging infrastructure [4]. Despite its critical role, the construction industry reports an unacceptable number of workplace safety incidents [5,6]. Many of these incidents result in injuries that include fractures, concussions, contusions, bruises, and others [7]. Some of these injuries also result in irreversible and severe outcomes such as fatalities, permanent disability, loss of body Sustainability 2023, 15, 7121. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097121 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability