The oil and gas industry has picked up on the benefits of digitization and artificial intelligence (AI) in its day-to-day activities, and the health, safety, and environment (HSE) sector is no exception. While AI brings clear benefits, the risks that come with those benefits remain unclear. While touting the advances of technology in HSE at SPE’s Virtual Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE), Olav Skar, director of health, safety, security, and wells at the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP), said, “I also see risks, and I remain concerned that we do not truly understand them.” Skar spoke at the ATCE on a panel that included Mohamed Kermoud, Schlumberger’s global vice president for HSE, and Philippe Herve, the vice president of energy solutions at Spark-Cognition. The panel was moderated by Josh Etkind, Shell’s Gulf of Mexico digital transformation manager. “A lot of power is in the technology,” Herve said. “The technology is beautiful. How we as humans are going to apply it, we need to think about it. We are thinking about all of the good things that the technology is bringing to humanity. Let’s keep it that way and remove all of the applications of artificial intelligence technology that may not be well perceived or beneficial to anybody.” An early target for digitization in oil and gas, driving has been the most dangerous HSE activity for employees. The IOGP claims that land-transportation-related incidents historically have been the largest cause of fatalities for its member companies. Since 2000, such incidents have accounted for 22% of all work-related fatalities reported by IOGP members. Schlumberger’s approach to driving safety was outlined in a paper presented at the 2020 SPE International Conference and Exhibition on Health, Safety, Environment, and Sustainability, a synopsis of which appeared in the August 2020 issue of JPT (http://go.spe.org/_01104-1542r). Schlumberger’s approach to improving driver safety includes an advanced driver-assistance system that alerts drivers of maximum speed limits, lane departures, and the proximity of pedestrians and other vehicles. The goal of the system is to effect good driver behavior. “If you analyze all the data, all the incidents, you find that behavior is always behind it,” Schlumberger’s Kermoud said. “People are trying to save time, to save the day. … The rules are generally perfect, but the behavior is something that we absolutely need to make sure that we impact one way or the other. And using technology will help us.”