A.I and the home design process. Revision 2.0

In the first blog of this series, I talked about A.I and how the best application of that technology would likely be applied in the future. I did though, in my own opinion, discuss the limitations of A.I in architectural design and construction. The link to the first blog is here.

Developing further on this topic, it stands to reason that we cover both sides of the ethical, practical and economical arguments for A.I utilisation in architectural design and construction.

In Australia currently, we are knees deep proverbially in a significant "correction" in construction. Large, medium and small construction companies going broke is a daily occurance, although it seems to have slowed now? All forms of media are full of examples of commentary and opinion on what's going wrong. Very few (educated) commentators offer advice on how to fix the situation though as it's a political "hot potato" and the social media backlash to any practical solutions are immediate and overwhelming. But I digress.

One of the issues we all acknowledge is time (or lack thereof). Builders are spread so thin that having the time to be able to spend on site ensuring good quality, cost effective build projects is limited to those who have the correct processes and resources to achieve the outcomes. A.I has a part to play in the administrative function of the construction industry that will free up professionals and builders to focus on the design and build function of a project.

For the builders, A.I can deal with interface with council, inspectors, supplies ordering, cash-flow management, budgeting, tendering, documentation admin, programming and scheduling and environmental management (A.I sends you a message on your phone saying there is rain coming, update the sub-contractors and cancel site attendance for those who won't be able to work, etc).

For the professionals. A.I can replace engineers working out extensive calculations. A.I can replace draftspeople by providing plans and coordinating with other consultants. It can produce full architectural schedules based on key noting a project and undertake extensive product research on the internet identifying any potential materials issues with the specifics of the project. A.I can analyse and assess trillions of bits of information in minutes. This is a massive benefit to the industry. You select a product and A.I tells you whether it's a suitable application for your design in minutes. That's phenomenal!

There are bound to be people working on more advanced programming which will allow a human produced sketch designs to be rationalised to a 3D concept model. This is well within the capability of A.I now. The flip side is, architecture is a very human discipline. It requires thought, experience and understanding of the human condition (as outlined in my previous blog), and this is not teachable. A.I will save us time (and by virtue) money, but it can't be taught to recognise the "human" element of architecture.

Now, the ethical argument. That's another thing altogether and I'll cover that in the next blog, but suffice to say. How much A.I influence on our lives, is too much? When does architecture cease to be an art form and just becomes a product because its all A.I generated? Food for thought.

Signing off,

Revell