{"id":716734,"date":"2023-10-23T06:11:49","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T05:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=716734"},"modified":"2024-01-17T09:43:19","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T09:43:19","slug":"architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power","title":{"rendered":"Architects must embrace AI and harness its power"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The importance of the profession has never been more evident. More ambitious buildings are springing up worldwide. Our expectations of what the built environment should provide have evolved. As well as being aesthetically pleasing and functional, our buildings should be sustainable and encourage us to live healthier, happier and more gratifying lives. This change has reinforced the importance of good architecture and the need for good architects.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">There has always been an understanding that we need good architecture. However, over the years the scope of the role architects are asked to perform has significantly broadened. This offers diverging career paths that sit outside traditional practice. I know trained architects who now run development companies and are project or design managers, many occupying critical positions outside architecture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The breadth of training that architects receive while studying and in the first few years of their working life puts them in good stead to complete many roles within our industry. I wonder whether people understand the breadth of possibilities. If more did, I suspect, many more students would sign up for architecture degrees, complete their courses and stay in the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Despite the opportunities, the spectre of artificial intelligence and the continued digitisation of the sector does worry some. At a talk I gave recently, one young architect voiced his concern that AI would shrink the architect\u2019s role, reduce the need for architects overall and spell disaster for the industry. He had a point. A few weeks ago, a friend showed me an AI app that creates works of art in seconds. To demonstrate its power, my friend asked that it recreate the <i>Reservoir Dogs<\/i> poster in the style of Leonardo\u2019s <i>Last Supper<\/i>. The resulting image was as impressive as it was worrying. If AI can do this, could it design a building, or even a city, I wondered, prompting me to speak with architects already grappling with this emerging technology.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2018AI will not replace good ideas and judgement driving design; it will not have the human empathy necessary to create places that serve the holistic needs of communities.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But it can help provide deeper technical insight, greater speed and imagination. The real danger I see is low adoption by architects, allowing others to step into our role,\u2019 comments Keir Regan-Alexander of Arka Works.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Jerry Tate of Tate+Co agrees it is unlikely that AI will simply replace architects, arguing that, while it might result in some job losses, it can also make architects more \u2018efficient and effective\u2019 and boost the abilities of smaller practices which don\u2019t boast armies of staff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">As for the potential for AI to create original designs, many seem to agree with Giulia Tomaello of SQUERO Design that it \u2018could never replace the creative vision and expertise of an architect\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Going back to the <i>Reservoir Dogs<\/i> poster, once I examined the image, I quickly realised AI had not \u2018created\u2019 it in the true sense of the word. Instead, the programme had studied countless images, trying to grasp the key characteristics of both <i>The Last Supper<\/i> and the <i>Reservoir Dogs<\/i> poster. AI hadn\u2019t exactly copied what it had seen but equally it had not been inspired by what it had studied to create something new. Can you have true creativity without imagination, consideration or inspiration? I think not, and firmly believe AI cannot replace the architect.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">In any case \u2013 it\u2019s too late. AI is already here, so architects must embrace it. There may be job losses, but there will also be efficiencies and opportunities to use this technology to advance the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><i>Kunle Barker is a property expert, journalist and broadcaster<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The importance of the profession has never been more evident. More ambitious buildings are springing up worldwide. Our expectations of what the built environment should provide have evolved. As well as being aesthetically pleasing and functional, our buildings should be sustainable and encourage us to live healthier, happier and more gratifying lives. This change has &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81429,"featured_media":716737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[745],"tags":[93810,13805,5667],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Architects must embrace AI and harness its power<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We can\u2019t stop technological advances, so it is best to embrace them and use them to improve the output of architectural pursuits, says Kunle Barker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Architects must embrace AI and harness its power\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We can\u2019t stop technological advances, so it is best to embrace them and use them to improve the output of architectural pursuits, says Kunle Barker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-23T05:11:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-17T09:43:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/10\/17121018\/KUNLE_INDEX.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"414\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kunle Barker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kunle Barker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power\",\"name\":\"Architects must embrace AI and harness its power\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-23T05:11:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-17T09:43:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/08ac72c428ca64c2d1bd9a4629280d4c\"},\"description\":\"We can\u2019t stop technological advances, so it is best to embrace them and use them to improve the output of architectural pursuits, says Kunle Barker\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Architects must embrace AI and harness its power\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\",\"description\":\"Architecture News &amp; Buildings\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/08ac72c428ca64c2d1bd9a4629280d4c\",\"name\":\"Kunle Barker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/bf6b29dee24c567e9a1ee1eb4cb11aee\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a961dcfe6ab6ec342754f062c2667e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a961dcfe6ab6ec342754f062c2667e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kunle Barker\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/kunle-barker-3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Architects must embrace AI and harness its power","description":"We can\u2019t stop technological advances, so it is best to embrace them and use them to improve the output of architectural pursuits, says Kunle Barker","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Architects must embrace AI and harness its power","og_description":"We can\u2019t stop technological advances, so it is best to embrace them and use them to improve the output of architectural pursuits, says Kunle Barker","og_url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power","og_site_name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","article_published_time":"2023-10-23T05:11:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-17T09:43:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/10\/17121018\/KUNLE_INDEX.jpg","width":620,"height":414,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kunle Barker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kunle Barker","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power","name":"Architects must embrace AI and harness its power","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-10-23T05:11:49+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-17T09:43:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/08ac72c428ca64c2d1bd9a4629280d4c"},"description":"We can\u2019t stop technological advances, so it is best to embrace them and use them to improve the output of architectural pursuits, says Kunle Barker","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/architects-must-embrace-ai-and-harness-its-power#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Architects must embrace AI and harness its power"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/","name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","description":"Architecture News &amp; Buildings","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/08ac72c428ca64c2d1bd9a4629280d4c","name":"Kunle Barker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/bf6b29dee24c567e9a1ee1eb4cb11aee","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a961dcfe6ab6ec342754f062c2667e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a961dcfe6ab6ec342754f062c2667e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kunle Barker"},"url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/kunle-barker-3"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716734"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81429"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716734"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":717914,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716734\/revisions\/717914"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}