Elimination

Unfortunately, engaging with disruptive technologies to empower the Architect and add value to the profession and the construction industry has, in turn, made the title of ‘Architect’ obsolete.

The rise and fall of the Architect, is derived from the urge to find empowerment in the rapidly changing industry. To adopt, adapt and evolve, inevitably could find the Architect’s title to have little, to no value in the industry of its time. Although this does appear to be highly unfeasible its not improbable that Architect’s role may be fully automated in the future if a design solution can be quantified with data. As a means of determining the possibility of this outcome for the future Architect, Frey (2013), presents a paper that “examines how susceptible jobs are to computerisation” (Frey, 2013). Frey looked at 702 detailed occupations to examine the expected impacts of future computerisation on various markets, including the construction industry.

Fortunately for the Architect, it ranked 82nd in a list ranking from least to most susceptible, in ascending order, with an extremely low, yet plausible, probability of 1.8%

Although the possibility of this scenario coming to fruition in the future for the Architect is highly unlikely, it is interesting to speculate what would happen to the Architect, and the industry, should the role become fully automated. Firstly, this would present yet another seismic shift in the professional industry as the Architect would have another adapt-or-die situation. Some potential options that the future Architect would have is to morph its role into that of a computer scientist, software developer or data analyst and become the driver and innovator of AI technology in construction. “Perhaps this is a future core role for the professional bodies as trusted data custodians” (Ryan et al, 2019). The Architects influence, and hold, over AI technology in the construction industry is one that may well be seen in the foreseeable future.

However, this would also have implications on the Architecture generated by the AI system as “AI is a ‘black box’ process: it gives an output based on inputs, yet hides the decision making-process” (Ryan, et al, 2019). This would inevitably incur major problems on an urban scale, as the lack of human input would result in decreased involvement and understanding of the built environment, social standards and values, qualitative input would be lost. Inevitably this could lead to “privacy issues, job losses and the deterioration of built environment” (Ryan, et al, 2019). But before all of that was to happen, the Architect’s societal values, who sits at the helm of Artificial Intelligence, would ignite and intervene.

Correct?

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Elimination

[Fig.22] Elimination of the Architect