The Architects of Intelligence

Here is the intro she offered:

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force across various industries, and architecture is no exception. Architects are increasingly leveraging AI to streamline their design processes, enhance efficiency, and explore innovative solutions. As the field embraces this technological revolution, glass walls and demountable partitions are witnessing significant advancements, offering exciting possibilities in terms of aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability.”

What did you think of it? Did you even read the whole thing?

That’s what you get with AI. You can smell its soullessness through this text alone. At best, it reads like a 5^th grade essay. But don’t get me wrong: I’m not one of those old-timey people who claim things were “better back in the day” or that “the machines are taking over.” After all, I’m sure they said that about the quill, the pen, the typewriter, the keyboard, and so on. Like any technology, I am curious to see where this goes.

Architects have been taking advantage of software such as ARK, Kaedim and Architechtures for nearly half a decade. Architectural AI takes human imagination and existing facts to explore aesthetics and design possibilities, informing our architectural decisions to come. We can expect the world to look vastly different in the next 10, 20 or even 50 years. Indoors and outdoors.

AI’s Powers

1. Saving Time
   AI reserves our most precious currency: time. Architects and designers have already started using its services in order to create designs keeping details such as weather, lighting, and location in mind. It also predicts what the final product will look like, which gives architects a tool to plan and budget accordingly. AI takes care of technical details, leaving more room and time for creativity. Who doesn’t like a shortcut?
   
   
2. Precision
   AI calculates things more accurately than you can. It can predict quantifiable details such as lighting, weather, and help designers using all these factors in mind. AI will also give you design options according to the climate you work in, the number of people in your office, and even the type of work you do. Architects and glass wall manufacturers can therefore explore their creativity within these parameters. It could perhaps even collect data on your temperament and design a wall fit for your unique needs!
   
   
3. Cost Reduction
   AI computes all possible scenarios, thereby giving us an estimate of the materials and time needed to complete a certain project. In speeding up these calculations, projects are completed faster, therefore giving them time to start working on newer ones sooner rather than later. Demountable walls are known for their flexibility, and AI can give an extra boost in terms of efficient use of materials as well as the mental labor that goes into the designing of glazed walls.
   
   
4. Risk Aversion
   AI helps architects and designers better envision the outcome of a specific project. It might, for example, warn you of possible upcoming earthquakes, giving you the opportunity to build your glass walls with extra strength. It can also anticipate additional costs, changes in upcoming trends, and determine whether your preferred aesthetic design is actually functional.
   
   
5. Sustainability
   AI has the potential to calculate LEED points and determine eligibility for other sustainability certifications. It can tell us how to optimize energy, select materials efficiently, reduce waste and estimate recycling rates. 

AI’s Shortcomings

1. Robotic
   AI has an AI voice. I recently received a message from a gentleman on a dating app, and immediately knew that ChatGPT wrote it for him. It’s doing better in architecture: AI has presented us with truly mesmerizing visions, almost out of a dream. That being said, AI will give you what you ask for. Exactly that. And only that.
   
   
2. Inability to Create New Data
   While AI knows A LOT, the possibilities are not endless. Like humans to some extent, it relies on information that it has. We, however, might have unique imagination that’s independent of nurture, whereas AI is completely dependent on existing data, and has no other source of generation.
   
   
3. Room for Error
   There is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to AI. While immensely impressive, we still need a human to oversee errors in case AI does not know what we want. It’s not its fault that it lacks context, and so a flesh-and-blood supervisor is essential. Especially when it comes to matters as significant as buildings.

Only time will tell whether AI will enhance or handicap us. If used thoughtfully and intentionally, it can speed up planning and construction details, thereby allowing designers and architects more time for play. If treated as an easy-way-out, we might have a dull, disappointing future ahead of us. Overall, we can expect AI to improve our quality of work and life, so long as we recognize it for what it is.