A Royal Review of Soft Skills in the AI Era

10 pages•Published: June 2, 2026

Abstract

Students entering higher education in 2026 have grown up in an era defined by social media, online learning, and now artificial intelligence (AI)—powerful technologies that have advanced global connections more than in any other time. However, these same advancements may have had certain inadvertent side effects at the personal level, including the erosion of soft skills—the fundamental interpersonal skills that facilitate effective social connections. This paper reports the results of a three-phase futures workshop held at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in London, UK, in the fall of 2025, in which participants were asked to provide their insights about the lack of soft skills in the current generation of CM students and recommendations on how to correct it. Many of the participants in the workshop were optimistic that AI would be different from previous technologies, believing it could be used to support the development of certain soft skills. Other participants disagreed, expressing skepticism that any technology has ever or can ever substitute for authentic human engagement. Key takeaways for CM teachers include basic guidance on how and when to use AI in the classroom and recommendations to explore alternatives to technology-dependent pedagogies.

Keyphrases: artificial intelligence, construction education, construction management, futures workshop, soft skills

In: Wesley Collins, Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico (editors). Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference, vol 7, pages 90-99.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/tswK
	https://doi.org/10.29007/87bz

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ASC2026:Royal_Review_Soft_Skills,
  author    = {Andrew Barnes},
  title     = {A Royal Review of Soft Skills in the AI Era},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference},
  editor    = {Wesley Collins and Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {7},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/tswK},
  doi       = {10.29007/87bz},
  pages     = {90-99},
  year      = {2026}}

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