Prof. Alexander Webb, The University of New Mexico (USA)
Abstract: “It’s not a human move. I’ve never seen a human play this move. So beautiful”
Fan Hui describing AlphaGo’s Move 37
While the potential of integrating AI into architecture is universally accepted, precisely how that integration will occur and into which aspect of architecture the integration will occur is contested. In 1972 Nicholas Negroponte’s Soft Architecture Machines described a myriad of opportunities for integration, 50 years later Negroponte’s musings are still prescient. While the core suggestions are still relevant, the most insightful aspect of Negroponte’s writing is that there is a multiplicity of potentials- a capacity that is still present in contemporary discussion regarding architectural AI.
Much discussion in the last five years regarding architectural AI, as well as AI as integrated into other aspects of design, have focused on deploying deep learning within design methodology. However, the work of architects such as Phillip Beesley and Jenny Sabin have focused upon integrating AI into built environments, capitalizing on big data sources and complex analysis labanian motion to create emotional machines. Their work, as well as the work of others, presences a capacity of the machine to understand, reflect, and, arguably, possess emotion in ways that are unique to architectural AI.
This presentation is a celebration of this multiplicity, that a variety of architectural AIs exist and that they have been unfolding for more than 50 years. More than simply acknowledging this condition, this presentation will argue for the importance of agency architectural AI- in whichever form it might take. This presentation will draw from the work of Graham Harman, California State University microbiologists, and AlphaGo’s seminal Move 37, ultimately arguing that increased machinic agency is vital for the future of any form of architectural AI and that architects should endeavor to augment this capacity as soon as possible.
Short CV: ALEXANDER WEBB STAMM PROFESSOR OF ADVANCED DESIGN + CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF EMERGENT TECHNOLOGY, RA, NCARB, LEED AP School of Architecture and Planning University of New Mexico EDUCATION / LICENSES PhD. Candidate, Digital Design, 2014 – Present, European Graduate School, Saas-Fee, CH. Master of Architecture, 2006, Southern California Institute of Architecture, Los Angeles CA. Licensed Architect #5316, New Mexico Board Of Examiners For Architects, 2014 PUBLICATIONS International Robotics and Automation Journal, “The Heuristics of Agency: On Computation, Big Data & Urban Design.” 2019. Living Systems Architecture Group White Papers 2019, “Would You Like to Wake up from this Dream? Yes, I’m Terrified. An Argument for Machinic REM” edited by Philip Beesley, Sascha Hastings & Sarah Bonnemaison. Riverside Architectural Press, 2019. International Robotics and Automation Journal, “Distributed Cognition : Assessing The Structure Of Urban Scale Artificial Intelligence” 2017. The Journal of Architectural Education Online (JAE), Book Review of Nicholas de Monchaux’s book: “Local Code: 3,659 Proposals about Data, Design and the Nature of Cities” 2017. “Digital Snowballs” by Alexander Webb, CLOG x GUNS, Issue 15 2017. The International Journal of Architectural Computing, Sentience and Systems Boundaries in Architecture, “Accepting the Robotic Other: Why Real Dolls and Spambots Suggest a Near-Future Shift in Architecture’s Architecture.” 2016.