Emerging tech in project delivery solves yesterday’s problems while creating tomorrow’s risks.

The Artful Argument is a unique professional learning and networking event for senior project leaders to engage in collaborative conversations about today's increasingly complex, shared challenges in project delivery.

Want to attend an upcoming Artful Argument? Find upcoming dates, topics, and register here.

How are emerging technologies shaping project delivery? Does it solve yesterday’s problems while creating tomorrow’s risks? Ann-Mary Rajanayagam opened our last Artful Argument on this topic.

Despite our attempt to keep it broad by using the phrase “emerging tech”, the discussion largely (and probably predictably) centred on AI. The general consensus was that, while new AI tools offer impressive efficiencies around summaries, task automation, scheduling, and reporting, they’re also introducing new risks that can’t be ignored.

Tools like Monday.com, Asana, Jira, and AI-native platforms like Tara AI and Relevance AI, are reshaping how project-based work is managed – with some sectors being more gung-ho than others (hat-tip to financial services).

However, some proposed future applications – like automated decision-making and algorithm-driven insights – are also laced with threat. When dashboards and decisions are based on low-quality data, or when models are trained on biased inputs, the results can be misleading or even counter-productive.

Notably, many new apps focus on improving one or two discreet functions in project management (e.g. resource planning). But tools like UniPhi (sponsor of Artful Argument), that cover all aspects of project work on a portfolio platform, offer another level of value. This is because it’s the intersection of the project management functions where issues arise – emergence occurs at the system level. So how can AI help at the system level if the intersecting data isn’t there?

Ann-Mary also highlighted the limitations of AI in managing the human dimensions of projects. While AI can organise tasks well, it still falls short when it comes to stakeholder relationships, change dynamics, and ethical decision-making.

Cybersecurity and vendor risk were also in the spotlight. In regulated sectors like finance, data sovereignty requirements mean organisations must manage their own compliance AND that of third and fourth-party vendors and partners.

Ann-Mary’s message was clear: emerging tech, including AI, is a powerful enabler, but it doesn’t replace human oversight. Responsible implementation must keep “humans in the loop”.

From my perspective, we absolutely need sophisticated technology to support PMOs and PPM delivery. We need solid tools to manage the scale, volatility, complexity, and complicatedness of project-based work. But humans must remain the active custodians of ethics, values, and judgment.

Technology should enhance capability, but it should never replace leadership.

Thank you, Ann-Mary, and our 2025 Artful Sponsors: UniPhi, NEC Contracts®, Australian Cost Engineering Society (ACES), Elysium EPL, and IPMA-Australia.

Click here to register for a brewing Argument.