Humans are not necessary, are they? – Industrial architecture in the age of AI.

Ethics, AI and Human Being.
Architects
Dr. Dietmar Koering
Year
2020

Interdisciplinary research in the field of architecture, which innovatively connects on the co-constitution between man and machine and on the ethico-aesthetics and space of industrial architecture in the age of artificial intelligence. The scientific goal of this research project is to investigate why and how industrial architecture has changed dramatically over the past decades and how humans will collaborate with robots in factories in the future – provided humans do not become trivial machines.

Currently, the ethical debate about AI is vigorous, but rarely research yet exists relating it to industrial architecture. I am particularly interested in algorithmic governmentality and how the current co-existence with machines came about. Is the current industrial architecture only monetary? Or are there clear conclusions which can be described in a justified manner and must necessarily remain with this development? What are the consequences for future industrial architecture, for architects, or above all, for users? This research seeks an answer to the question of how industrial architecture will adapt to the co-existence of humans and robots in the 21st century. It critically questions the notion of ethics and AI in current industrial architecture and how it can be applied to rethinking architectural ideas, design processes, fabrication and utilisation processes. This research addresses a currently missing subject that should be taught in the faculties of architecture. The research approaches the involved questions epistemologically and recognises that they present both a wicked problem and an ethical dilemma. It contributes to the ethical debate over the digital transformation of industrial architecture and the human-machine relation in the 21st century. It leads to identifying positive and negative aspects of the subject and provides invaluable guidance for the future, contributing to the transformation of the built environment.

More soon. / Head by R.Schwermer 2003