So, my parents are mechanical engineers and I have this childhood memory of my dad being annoyed by
his office introducing Computer Aided Design (also known as CAD) software in the early 90s and saying
how hand drafting will always be better. In a way, he’s not wrong. Sure, these days very few people
still hand draft because CAD is just much faster, more efficient, and can process complex data that
would be extremely difficult for humans. However many architecture and design school students are
often still expected to draft exclusively by hand for the first year of their education. Which was
something I hated doing when I was in school but now kind of understand what my dad means
when he says some essence of creativity got lost when we moved away from hand drafting.
When CAD technology, 3D visualization software,
and Building Information Modelling (BIM) first came on the scene, each time there was an initial
period of concern about if they will lead to human workers being replaced. However,
most of these advances eventually got integrated into the industry and became
everyday tools architects and engineers use to improve visualization, efficiency, accuracy,
and to create bigger and more complex structures that wouldn’t have been possible before. So is
artificial intelligence just another step in the automation journey that will lead
to further improvements in building science? Or do we actually have something to fear this time?
♫ ARTiculations intro ♫
The state of AI today is different from previous incarnations of automation because computers
are no longer limited to autonomous, repetitive, and systematic actions. Artificial Intelligence
is becoming…well, intelligent. AI software like DALL-E 2, ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion,
and Midjourney, are forms of “Generative AI” which learn from massive amounts of data to
identify patterns, and then subsequently generate content (such as writings and images) that are
more accurate, varied, and personalized than what automation software could create in the past.
For the longest time, we only had to worry about computers taking over low-skilled
and non-creative jobs. Jobs that required more complex thinking and creativity required
humans – because we have diverse experience in the world. We can observe, learn, and adapt. But,
what happens when a computer can do the same – at scales and speeds unimaginable to humans?
AI like DALL-E 2 and Midjourney create realistic or stylized images based on descriptions entered
in natural language. The images are usually aesthetically pleasing, visually interesting,
and appear to involve creativity. One interesting feature these tools have is that you can be
as vague or as specific as you want in the text prompts. Generally, the more specific,
the better the outcome. But vagueness can be advantageous because, in the conceptual stages
of a design project, usually ideas are broad and minimally defined. So a variety of images based on
keywords can be useful to show a client, and since you can add more detailed descriptions later,
or even upload your own images for the AI to stitch with their outputs,
it can be a highly useful design tool. Although, something that is often left out of sensational
articles about AI is that it usually takes a long time (sometimes hours or even days) and
massive amounts of trial and error to generate a desired, accurate, and suitable outcome.
However, architecture is not just about creating conceptual renderings. So far
it doesn’t seem like AI software like DALL-E can develop good design details,
plan layouts, evaluate site conditions, consider space adjacencies, and develop a
functional design on its own. But that doesn’t mean generative AI can’t do those things.
Before we get into how AI could accomplish design related tasks. I’ll just say, this technology is
changing very quickly day by day and it’s hard to predict where it will go even in the near future.
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just by clicking the link in the description below. Now back to how AI could take our jobs.
Autodesk, the company that makes some of the most widely used software for architecture,
engineering, and construction industries, used computational workflows and generative learning
to develop a design for their 250+ person Toronto office in 2017. A lot of tasks that would have
normally been done by humans during the schematic design stage, like creating blocking diagrams,
conceptual visualizations, programmatic analyses, adjacencies evaluation, test fits,
and layout options, were done by AI software – over 10,000 times. Autodesk states that these
tools offer a lot of benefits for managing complex projects, incorporating large amounts of inputs,
and creating more optimized spaces. Humans weren’t absent from this process though.
They provided feedback to the software and ultimately still made decisions on what
design options to implement. It also doesn’t look like AI was used to produce construction
drawings and specifications either – although automated BIM tools were probably still used
for part of the documentation process. And as far as I know, the City of Toronto still
requires a licensed human architect or interior designer to apply for building permits, for now.
It’s hard to say how much more of the design process AI will be capable of doing in the
near future. Maybe one day they will indeed be more creative than we are.
Will AI Replace architects?
ChatGPT: It is possible that AI could assist architects in their work,
but it is unlikely that AI will completely replace architects. The design process
involves creativity and decision-making, which are difficult for AI to replicate. Additionally,
architects often work closely with clients and builders, and need to understand and
incorporate the needs of these stakeholders, which is another aspect of the job that AI is
not currently capable of handling. However, AI can be used to improve the efficiency and
accuracy of certain tasks such as building design, cost estimation and energy analysis.
Well, of course, a robot is going to tell me to not worry about being replaced by them. But
ChatGPT does have a point. After almost 12 years in the architecture industry, I realize some of
the most important things we do is building human relationships. These days I spend a lot of my
time talking to clients, hearing their concerns, working out problems with them, and presenting
ideas to them in engaging ways. Doing those things require empathy and understanding of human needs.
We also attend community consultations to communicate with and obtain feedback from the
public. We negotiate with city authorities about code variances. We collaborate with engineers,
other consultants, property managers, owners, and contractors, as well as mediate disputes
with they occur. Most of those things require being human. Sure, chatbots can be trained to
mimic human behaviour and natural human speech – but until they become replicants
from Bladerunner or something, they’re probably not managing client relations anytime soon.
But hey maybe I’m just overly confident and in total denial about the impending
future where I am replaced by a robot. Although, I find it hard to worry when
“willrobotstakemyjob.com” says architects have literally a 0% chance of being automated.
Of course, I haven’t even begun to address things like ethical problems with AI,
the messy world of copyright, lack of regulation for AI technology,
and how robots will take over and destroy us all. To hear more about that – head over
to my podcast Pictorial where we spent two whole episodes speculating how doomed we are.
So what do you guys think? Could AI replace architects or at least a significant portion
of architectural professionals? What industry do you work in,
and how likely do you think it is for you to be replaced by a robot?
Thanks for watching! If you’re interested in learning about the ancient, mythological
origins of AI, check out Mythology with Mike’s video right here. To learn more
about what human architects do – check out some of my other videos. Don’t forget to subscribe,
bell icon, notifications, and who knows how many other buttons you gotta press
to not miss a video. Thanks for watching, bye! *snap fingers*
Open AI is literally asking me to prove that I’m not a robot.
I passed.