Jordan Shuster - Introduction

About Me
I'm a senior in the CIVE/AE program, with a concentration in Digital Building.

Experience with Intelligent Buildings
As I understand intelligent buildings, I don't have much experience with them. I have minimal Revit experience (only what I've done for Drexel courses so far), and moderate experience with databases (both Excel and SQL), which I know will be relevant later in the course. However, I do have some experience with aspects of the course outside the context of intelligent buildings. For example, I have taken multiple courses in robotics, both in building and programming. I have also done some research on AI, since it's a topic I'm interested in, but I don't have any practical experience with it.

Expectations for the Course
I don't exactly know what to expect from this course. I expect that I will be doing a lot of reading about new technologies that are being incorporated into buildings, thereby making them "intelligent," and I know that some of these include robotics, AI, databases, and more.

Evernote Article
I found an article by Jared Leidich, entitled "Is the Singularity Steering us Toward the Greatest Inequality in History?", which discusses the concept of a technological singularity and how the exponential growth of technological advancements contributes to growing inequality between the privileged and underprivileged, particularly when it comes to access to technology and the internet. I particularly like that the article acknowledged that technological advancements further contribute to the societal phenomenon where, as they say, "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." This phrase is often used in reference to wealth, but it also applies here. Those with access to technology are more easily able to develop newer technology, while those who live in developing countries, for example, or live below the poverty line have delayed access to advancements. This means that while advantaged populations are already at work developing the next step, disadvantaged populations are still three steps behind.

Definition of "Intelligent Building"
I would define an intelligent building as one that has technology allowing it to be receptive of human interaction and having the ability to adapt automatically to use.