MIT calls for a new model of infrastructure development
Ali Jadbabaie, head of MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, says artificial intelligence, digital transformation, climate change and geopolitical complexity are forcing a rethink of how infrastructure is designed, financed, built and operated. He presented the argument ahead of the World Infrastructure Forum in Madrid on Oct. 28, co-founded by MIT’s department, the World Bank Group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and the University of Texas at Austin.
The scale of the challenge is growing with demand. Jadbabaie cited models indicating that, by 2028, the median inhabitant of the planet will live on more than $10 a day for the first time. As people move out of abject poverty, demand for infrastructure will increase, particularly in countries where systems are still developing.
More systems now count as infrastructure
Infrastructure has repeatedly changed with technology: dams, bridges and canals were followed by railways and sewage systems, then highways, tunnels, metros and the systems supporting megacities. Computing, sensing and digital tools subsequently changed how assets were designed, monitored and operated.
Jadbabaie argues that the definition now extends well beyond conventional civil works. Power grids, semiconductor manufacturing plants, data centers, cellphone towers and high-speed internet infrastructure belong alongside roads and water systems as critical infrastructure. AI is also becoming part of the engineering context, both through its potential role in design and through the energy demand associated with its deployment.
The central constraint is that expanding capacity through the resource-intensive practices of the 20th century would not leave sufficient water, energy or materials to meet future needs. The alternative, he said, is to deliver more infrastructure with lower consumption and less carbon output. Faster and cheaper sensing, access to data, and improved actuation and control may support more efficient choices. AI could allow engineers to explore more design options more quickly and at lower cost, although Jadbabaie said its outcomes have not yet been determined.
Interdependence raises the stakes
Digital transformation has made previously separate systems increasingly dependent on one another. A power outage can interrupt water and gas services, internet access and transport. Failures in communications networks can affect many other services, while disruptions in supply chains, energy markets and critical materials can propagate through the wider economy.
That connectivity can improve efficiency, but it also increases systemic risk. Jadbabaie noted that failures may be rare yet far more consequential when they occur. Infrastructure decisions therefore cannot be limited to engineering and construction: they also involve financing, operation, users and their preferences, making the work a sociotechnical undertaking with social, technical and economic dimensions.
Forum seeks an ongoing cross-sector dialogue
MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and its partners created the World Infrastructure Forum to bring academia, industry, governments and financial institutions into continuing discussion across the value chain. The initiative has established five working groups and an advisory group of more than 30 leaders spanning engineering and construction, materials, finance, multilateral institutions and academia.
Jadbabaie said the largest opportunities for new infrastructure will often be in developing systems, while mature economies also require modernization and investment. For businesses, the practical implication is to assess infrastructure projects across design, resource use, finance, operations and interconnected-service resilience from the outset, because no single organization or country can create the next model alone.