Toward a smart architecture of habitats in the age of human-AI symbiosis in an eco-aware world

The symbolic tools we use to design and construct our environments have been transformed by the so-called Cybernetic revolution and the innovations in materials technology that have accompanied them. The integration of computers, the Internet of Things, embedded robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) supports the development of intelligent/smart buildings where specific levels of automation can be tailored to every type of building use and occupancy. This talk will emphasize smart architecture as being based on insights into how buildings may affect human well-being whether or not novel technology is employed. This involves a critical assessment of when and where AI and related technologies should be incorporated into the built environment. A complementary concern is with how AI will affect the way humans see their place in their social and “natural” worlds when we can no longer see humans as the only possessors of “intelligence.”