Creative Design, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in the Property Industry
I have written before about algorithms and how they are an integral part of the future for the property, design and construction industry. For the most part the focus of opportunities in our industry has been around the automation of existing work.
Automation in the construction industry is where people and machines will work together to generate productivity – where machines mimic and demonstrate human behavior. We see this in brick laying machines, supply chain optimization and in the use of Building Information Management systems. By and large we are seeing incremental improvements, but nothing that approaches a tenfold improvement that we see in other areas experiencing disruption.
The current capabilities that have been put in place are limited. At best we are in a period of weak Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our industry. Most machines only perform processes we have programmed and can only respond to situations we have planned for.
Our industry has an amazing potential for being impacted by the use of AI and Machine Learning (ML), but it will require thinking outside the box. It is important to look to other industries to see the potential for our own.
For example, I was intrigued by the work of the Paris-based art collective, Obvious using AI. The painting, titled Portrait of Edmond de Belamy, sold for $432,000 more than 40 times the estimated selling price of around $7,000 to $10,000.
The Obvious collective said, "We wish to emphasize the parallel between the input parameters used for training an algorithm, and the expertise and influences that craft the style of an artist. Most of all, we want the viewer to focus on the creative process: an algorithm usually functions by replicating human behavior, but it learns by using a path of its own."
What Obvious is referring to is the next step from weak AI – their reference to learning – ‘using a path of its own’ is referring to ML. They have changed the business of creativity. An area traditionally seen as being unique to humans.
This seems to have parallels to the design and architecture of infrastructure going forward. Not only is automation an opportunity, but the creative side our business has enormous potential. Will the future of great architecture firms be based on their application of AI and ML?
The ability to combine the design of a building with the cost and schedule could have profound impact. Usually these activities are separate and entail long time periods over which there are iterations and trade-offs that further elongate the process.
What happens when we can use AI and ML to run billions of simulations and be given choices on the creative, economic and risk of a building that goes beyond anything that exists today.
What if the process were accomplished in hours and minutes and not weeks and months? What if we combined the optimal economic option with the optimal creative option?
This is a topic for debate as we determine the future of work in our industry.
However, what is clear is that in the future only those who have embraced AI and ML will be able to capture the value. We need to look to what others are doing and continue to build on the shoulders of giants.