Ep. 181: "The Real Promise of Operational AI" – Trust, Accountability and Understanding AI for the Built Environment with Industry Advisor Daniel Stonecipher

Daniel Stonecipher is an Independent Advisor for AI Infrastructure & Built Environment Platforms advising investors, boards, and executive teams on AI-enabled infrastructure platforms across facilities, energy systems, and complex built environments. Mike Petrusky asks Daniel his views on the promise of AI in asset management and they discuss why he believes it extends beyond automating buildings to enabling more capable, confident organizations with better operational oversight. Daniel says that trust, confidence, and accountability are essential for successful AI adoption in facilities management, so AI must be tested and contextually validated before critical decisions are delegated to it. While pilots demonstrate AI's analytical power, scaling these solutions requires careful consideration of real-world context, human oversight, and ownership of outcomes. The FM industry is progressing in its discussion of AI, so Mike and Daniel encourage more realistic assessments and shared experiences about both success and challenges of operationalization as they offer the inspiration you need to be an Asset Champion in your organization! Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstonecipher/ Read the article that Daniel discussed: https://www.automatedbuildings.com/2026/06/the-real-ai-bottleneck-may-not-be-roi-it-may-be-trust/ Read article #2: https://www.automatedbuildings.com/2026/06/why-ai-trust-breaks-down-in-operational-environments/ Explore Eptura™: https://eptura.com/ Discover free resources and explore past interviews at: https://eptura.com/discover-more/podcasts/asset-champion/ Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikepetrusky/ Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSkmmkVFvM4H3pwnlU2AuqynuRDpvnh4J