Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter investigates the transformative role of artificial general intelligence (AGI) in advancing lean construction and waste management within the human-centric framework of Industry 5.0. While lean principles effectively minimise inefficiencies, their potential is constrained by manual data handling and the limitations of narrow artificial intelligence (AI). This research posits AGI as a paradigm shift, offering autonomous, cross-domain reasoning and recursive self-optimisation to address these challenges. The analysis explores how AGI enhances lean methodologies by integrating disparate data from building information modelling (BIM), IoT and site telemetry to automate workflows and manage resources. A key focus is its application in construction and demolition waste (CDW) management, where AGI can transcend conventional machine learning models by leveraging generalised learning to predict and classify waste streams with minimal supervision. As illustrated in a projected timeline, the evolution from current narrow AI to agentic AI by 2025, and ultimately to AGI around 2038, is expected to drive waste reduction efficiency towards near-total optimisation. This progression signifies a move towards self-organising, cyber–physical construction systems. The chapter concludes by addressing critical implementation barriers, including data interoperability and the ‘black-box’ nature of AGI, alongside the ethical imperatives of accountability, bias mitigation and fostering a human–machine symbiosis for a resilient and intelligent built environment.</jats:p>