MCAA's GEORGE AI 2.1 Update Unveils Realtime Masonry Spanish Translations, Five New Assistants, Slew Of UI Improvements
By Dan Kamys
The Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) is excited to announce the release of GEORGE AI 2.1 Beta, introducing a suite of new assistants and features. After its initial release at the beginning of October, thousands of users are now using GEORGE to boost productivity like never before. Now, with five new safety assistants and performance improvements, the experience continues to improve.
"We are excited to welcome thousands of users into the GEORGE ecosystem, where they are actively engaging with our purpose-built assistants," said Dan Kamys, Director of Content at the MCAA. "The overwhelming interest has propelled us to fast-track our release updates. We are delighted to unveil a host of enhancements and new assistants in this next rollout in our beta-testing phase."
New Features:
- Rich Text Formatting: Enjoy enhanced text editing capabilities, including copy and paste functionality, for a more seamless user experience.
- UI Visual Improvements: Experience a refreshed interface designed for intuitive navigation and ease of use.
- Live Spanish Translations: Communicate effortlessly with live translations by pressing the record button. Users in the same AI Conversation will receive Spanish beamed into their earbuds with just a few second delay.
- Private Notes and Notification Center: Keep track of important updates and personal notes with ease.
- Project Groups and Conversations: Collaborate effectively with team members through group chats, all linked to MCAA accounts.
New Assistants:
- Silica Safety: Provides guidance on silica exposure and safety measures and can help create a written policy.
- Heat Exposure: Offers best practices for managing heat-related risks on the jobsite.
- Hazard Communication (Hazcom): Assists with understanding and implementing hazard communication standards.
- Forklift Training: Administers and scores forklift training tests and is an expert on the MCAA’s Forklift Training guide.
- PPE Usage: Educates on the proper use of personal protective equipment to enhance safety.
Though the system and its Assistants are still in beta and not to be anything more than capability examples, it is anticipated the full release will occur sometime in 2025.
"Our beta testers have embraced the web-based operating system, GEORGE, appreciating its versatility across any device through both voice and text interactions," said Jason Blake, MCAA’s Director of Technology. "We remain committed to enhancing the user experience and the capabilities of our assistants. Looking ahead, we are excited to introduce features like email and phone message integration, all while adhering to our core design principles: familiarity, simplicity, and seamlessness. GEORGE is well on its way to be the industry’s ultimate productivity tool."
The MCAA continues its popular "Get To Know GEORGE" series with the next free education session set for December 9th from 9-10AM Central. Those interested in signing up to learn more about the MCAA's pioneering AI ecosystem can click here.
About Mason Contractors Association of America: The Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) is the national trade association representing mason contractors in the $33 billion industry. The MCAA is committed to preserving and promoting the trade by providing continuing education, advocating fair codes and standards, fostering a safe work environment, recruiting future manpower and marketing the benefits of masonry materials.
About GEORGE: GEORGE is the Mason Contractors Association of America’s proprietary, industry-specific Artificial Intelligence operating system. Built on the MCAA’s experience serving as the masonry industry’s focal point for over 75 years, it is designed to make the masonry industry more efficient than ever. GEORGE is a web-based experience that can run on any device through talk and/or type input. Its name is an homage to George Miller, the MCAA's first association executive. The Assistants within the GEORGE AI ecosystem and the outputs they provide are intended to be examples of capabilities and not to be trusted on their own without human review and/or modification. Once GEORGE AI leaves beta testing, information will be more reliable and trustworthy. AI is not perfect, so we will always recommend a human look over outputs prior to utilizing.
About the Author
Dan Kamys is the Editorial Director of MASONRY Publications.
