Group A - Robotics + AI (1/11/18)

Group A
How are robotics and AI relevant to our field?

We have chosen to define our field as designing engineers, professionals who design parts of buildings or structures. AI and robotics are definitely relevant to this field, especially when we consider lower levels of these concepts.

While we believe robotics are related to our field in the sense that they will be used to construct the output of our creations and designs, they are not directly tied to what we would do day-to-day. However, as in the example of 3D printing, there comes a point where robots are able to produce or manufacture building components that weren't previously possible to manufacture. This expands the limits of our design creativity and capability, improving the way we can design. However, robotics are much more important and relevant to the construction and labor sectors of building and structure fields.

The first step in relating AI to our field is the combination of many existing programs. For example, the combination of structural analysis, mechanical system sizing, and architectural design programs could be combined into a super-program. In this scenario, all that is required is a basic programmatic input, and the software does the rest of the designing. It considers possible scenarios and designs and chooses the best and most efficient options as final design. However, there comes the question of whether or not this super-program can replicate human creativity, and the fact that human input is still needed to create the database of possibilities for the program to choose from. At this stage, there is also the question of whether or not humans will trust the output of these super-programs. Once consciousness is created to the point that no human input is needed, we as designers are obsolete, and we reach a scary point in the development of this technology.