Exploring the barriers to generative artificial intelligence for green buildings in Ghana

The introduction of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) into green building delivery is a great opportunity for sustainable construction in Ghana but it is limited by multiple barriers. The aim of this study is to explore the barriers impacting the use of GenAI in the delivery of green buildings in the Ghanaian construction sector. A structured questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 132 key stakeholders in the Ghanaian built environment, and the data was analysed using factor analysis to examine the dimensional relationships between five components of barriers: algorithmic trust and legal accountability, operational and technical integration, data governance and ethical integrity, institutional and socio-economic barriers, and policy and human-centric integration. The novelty of this study lies in its context-specific empirical evidence from a developing nation on the challenges of applying GenAI to deliver green and sustainable buildings. It is also situated within the sustainable development goal (SDG) 11 and 13 facilitating the application of new technologies to build sustainable projects. The study also enhances knowledge on the barriers in practice and academic research.