The rise of AI-led, generative software: good news and bad news…

Reading through this issue of Middle East Consultant, you’ll notice that on several occasions, we asked interviewees to comment on the impact of the new AI-led, generative design packages, such as Midjourney and DALL-E. To what extent can they actually take the place of professional architectural and design input? Can they be genuinely creative, or are they no more or less than the sum of all the inputs?

These questions arose directly from the content and debates at several of our events in 2022, and they inevitably point not only to a potentially competitive future for ‘pure’ design shops but also indicate the ever-growing rise of the multi-disciplinary engineering firm. No doubt the jury is still very much out on whether these packages can equal the sheer creativity of leading architects, but the reality is that the people we ask in this issue certainly believe in the transformative power of technology and its ability to influence and disrupt the traditional boundaries.

There’s probably some sort of equation here with the style of software used to play chess: at one time seen as highly capable but no match for truly world-class players, it has since reached a point whereby it is simply impossible to beat, by any player of any class. There’s another factor here, too: the rise of the multi-disciplinary engineering firm appears to be unstoppable, as the list of competencies they contain begins to subsume any number of previous stakeholders with all kinds of specialised skillsets. These new generative packages simply accelerate that rise, and it’s worth keeping in mind a comment from AESG’s Steve Coombes, that “they are evolving so fast, there isn’t even any kind of user manual.”

Another comment I like appears in this issue of the magazine, and it’s from LWK’s Usama Aziz. When I asked him to what extent his award-winning firm is using the likes of Midjourney, he replied that: “We like to continuously experiment to harness the generative power as a test bed of ideas and push the boundaries of artistic expression.”

Clearly, what is already a powerful force in the hands of engineers can be a creative superpower when employed by those who are paid for their sheer design ingenuity. Long may it continue that way.

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