Technology in Architectural Practice

Felix, this is the defining question. At Design Build Labs, we see this not as an existential threat, but as a massive, overdue shift away from architecture's commodity tasks.
Here is how the next five years will shake out:
 What AI Takes: The Production Layer

• AI will completely dominate rule-based, predictable, and repetitive processes:
• Drafting & BIM:** Automated construction documents, routine detailing, and instant BIM coordination based on localized libraries.
• Code Compliance:** Near-instant municipal code, zoning, and life-safety checks.
• Option Generation:** Hundreds of optimized programmatic layouts and photorealistic renderings generated in seconds.

What Remains Human: Empathy & Strategy

You can automate the drawing, but you can't automate the listening. Design Democracy:

• Building consensus amidst the messy, complex politics of a community or corporate stakeholder group requires deep psychological listening and enterprise empathy.
• Upstream Planning:** Aligning real estate with organizational culture and solving spatial risks before a pencil touches paper.

The Staffing Shift & Advice for Young Pros
The traditional firm "pyramid", relying on an army of junior draftsmen, is obsolete. Firms will become smaller, flatter, and highly agile. We are transitioning from a profession of drafters to a profession of **Design Strategists**.
If your current value is being the fastest person in the office at Revit or Rhino, you are positioning yourself for automation. Young professionals must pivot today:
 1. **Master the "Soft" Skills:** Double down on psychology, facilitation, and negotiation. The future architect is a master consensus-builder.
 2. **Move Upstream:** Learn the business of real estate to solve client problems before they ever become design problems.
The future belongs to architects who stop acting like high-end drafting machines and start acting like trusted strategic partners.

------------------------------
William Robertson AIA
Design Build Labs
Santa Monica CA
------------------------------

William,

I think your distinction between the "production layer" and the "strategy layer" is particularly insightful.

Historically, much of architectural practice has relied on junior staff to produce drawings, coordinate models, and document decisions made elsewhere. If AI significantly reduces the time required for those tasks, the traditional staffing pyramid may indeed be challenged.

That said, I wonder whether there is also a middle layer that deserves attention. Beyond drafting and documentation, architects often synthesize competing requirements from sustainability, cost, constructability, regulations, operations, and user experience. While AI may become increasingly capable of optimizing these parameters, determining which objectives should be prioritized remains a fundamentally human decision.

For example, AI might generate hundreds of efficient design options, but deciding whether a project should prioritize community identity, embodied carbon reduction, long-term adaptability, or commercial value still requires judgment, values, and negotiation among stakeholders.

I also think architectural education will need to evolve rapidly. Traditionally, young professionals developed design judgment through years of production work. If AI removes much of that production layer, how do emerging architects gain the experience necessary to become the strategic advisors you describe?

Perhaps one of the biggest questions for the profession is not whether AI will replace drafting, but how we train the next generation when the traditional pathway to expertise is transformed.

Thank you for sharing your perspective.

Felix, this is the defining question. At Design Build Labs, we see this not as an existential threat, but as a massive, overdue shift away from architecture's commodity tasks.
Here is how the next five years will shake out:
 What AI Takes: The Production Layer

• AI will completely dominate rule-based, predictable, and repetitive processes:
• Drafting & BIM:** Automated construction documents, routine detailing, and instant BIM coordination based on localized libraries.
• Code Compliance:** Near-instant municipal code, zoning, and life-safety checks.
• Option Generation:** Hundreds of optimized programmatic layouts and photorealistic renderings generated in seconds.

What Remains Human: Empathy & Strategy

You can automate the drawing, but you can't automate the listening. Design Democracy:

• Building consensus amidst the messy, complex politics of a community or corporate stakeholder group requires deep psychological listening and enterprise empathy.
• Upstream Planning:** Aligning real estate with organizational culture and solving spatial risks before a pencil touches paper.

The Staffing Shift & Advice for Young Pros
The traditional firm "pyramid", relying on an army of junior draftsmen, is obsolete. Firms will become smaller, flatter, and highly agile. We are transitioning from a profession of drafters to a profession of **Design Strategists**.
If your current value is being the fastest person in the office at Revit or Rhino, you are positioning yourself for automation. Young professionals must pivot today:
 1. **Master the "Soft" Skills:** Double down on psychology, facilitation, and negotiation. The future architect is a master consensus-builder.
 2. **Move Upstream:** Learn the business of real estate to solve client problems before they ever become design problems.
The future belongs to architects who stop acting like high-end drafting machines and start acting like trusted strategic partners.

------------------------------
William Robertson AIA
Design Build Labs
Santa Monica CA
------------------------------

In short, I believe:

AI will take over architectural tasks fastest when the output is easy to verify.

A task becomes a basic expectation when AI can generate it and the architect, client, or system can verify it quickly.

A task remains human-led when verification requires judgment, trust, liability, taste, negotiation, or accountability.

The firms that operate from fear will scale back those that believe in some form of Jevon's Paradox will restructure their firms accordingly.

Verifiable tasks
Renderings, as we're seeing are now commodity expectations to the point that owner / clients will defacto use them for early stakeholder alignment. Services need to embrace this shift in some capacity and become more like stewards of stakeholder conversations when it comes to using these tools. 

Drafting and documentation are verifiable and therefore will become a basic expectation in terms of speed. 

However, BIM Modeling itself is still very difficult to verify so it will resist pure automation for some time - and more importantly, the bridge between renderings and verifiable BIM models are still some ways away.

Non-verifiable tasks
Every task that requires a degree of human judgement due to accountability, liability etc, These will not be automated by AI because no one wants to take on the liability.

What I would tell junior professionals is as true as any time in history: learn how to make friends, build relationships and network because that is the most alpha you will gain in your career. Learn how to build your own audience because that is your asset. Bringing in work is also the fastest way to become principal / partner and will provide a kind of optionality that is invaluable whether you want to go out on your own or scale a corporate ladder.


Now for TLDR;

There are two mental models that I think are important to balance when thinking about this question. 

The Kano Model and Jason Wei's "Asymmetry of Verification" and Verifier's Rule. 

As a refresher, the Kano Model maps out on a 2x2 Customer Satisfaction and Customer Expectations with three curves representing a service or product's attributes across Excitement (capabilities that are differentiated and emotional), Performance (capabilities that leading but not highly differentiated), and Threshold (capabilities that are expected by the market -- bare minimum requirements.)

Here's an example:


Let's hold that thought.

Jason Wei wrote in 2025 a canonical post reflecting on the breakthroughs of Reinforcement Learning and scaling laws about an idea he defined as Verifier's Rule. He also gave a talk at Stanford's AI Club which I highly recommend watching. 

"Verifier's rule: The ease of training AI to solve a task is proportional to how verifiable the task is. All tasks that are possible to solve and easy to verify will be solved by AI."

Now in order to verify something, we should understand the Asymmetry of Verification. 
Essentially, some tasks are much easier to verity a solution than to actually find the solution. 

Here are some examples from the Stanford AI Club talk:



So if we take these two ideas together what we get is something like:

Client expectations change with the commodization of any service. People can buy very expensive things with one click these days online (Teslas, Satellite orders, etc.) Assume that someone will figure out how to do this in services as well in some manor with a high attention to customer service. 

------------------------------
George Valdes Assoc. AIA
Toolblocks.app - AI Native CRM for AEC
St. Petersburg FL
------------------------------

George,

I find your connection between the Kano Model and Verifier's Rule particularly compelling.

The idea that architectural tasks become commoditized when they are both solvable and easily verifiable helps explain why rendering, documentation, and certain aspects of code compliance are advancing so quickly. Once clients can rapidly verify the output, speed and cost inevitably become expectations rather than differentiators.

What I find interesting is how this applies to design quality itself.

Many of the outcomes architects care most about are difficult to verify in the short term. Community identity, sense of place, cultural value, delight, adaptability, and long-term social impact are all highly consequential, yet there is no simple verification function for them. In many cases, we do not know whether a design has truly succeeded until years after occupancy.

This makes me wonder whether architecture will become increasingly polarized. On one end, highly verifiable tasks will become automated and commoditized. On the other, architects may derive more value from defining objectives, framing trade-offs, and helping clients understand outcomes that cannot be easily measured or verified.

I also think your point about audience-building is important. If AI reduces the scarcity of production capability, reputation, trust, and relationships may become even more valuable. Clients rarely hire architects solely because they can produce drawings; they hire people they trust to make good decisions when the answers are uncertain.

Perhaps the future competitive advantage of architects will not be producing solutions, but helping clients decide which problems are worth solving in the first place.

Thank you for sharing these ideas. The verification lens is one of the more useful frameworks I've seen for thinking about AI's impact on practice.

In short, I believe:

AI will take over architectural tasks fastest when the output is easy to verify.

A task becomes a basic expectation when AI can generate it and the architect, client, or system can verify it quickly.

A task remains human-led when verification requires judgment, trust, liability, taste, negotiation, or accountability.

The firms that operate from fear will scale back those that believe in some form of Jevon's Paradox will restructure their firms accordingly.

Verifiable tasks
Renderings, as we're seeing are now commodity expectations to the point that owner / clients will defacto use them for early stakeholder alignment. Services need to embrace this shift in some capacity and become more like stewards of stakeholder conversations when it comes to using these tools. 

Drafting and documentation are verifiable and therefore will become a basic expectation in terms of speed. 

However, BIM Modeling itself is still very difficult to verify so it will resist pure automation for some time - and more importantly, the bridge between renderings and verifiable BIM models are still some ways away.

Non-verifiable tasks
Every task that requires a degree of human judgement due to accountability, liability etc, These will not be automated by AI because no one wants to take on the liability.

What I would tell junior professionals is as true as any time in history: learn how to make friends, build relationships and network because that is the most alpha you will gain in your career. Learn how to build your own audience because that is your asset. Bringing in work is also the fastest way to become principal / partner and will provide a kind of optionality that is invaluable whether you want to go out on your own or scale a corporate ladder.


Now for TLDR;

There are two mental models that I think are important to balance when thinking about this question. 

The Kano Model and Jason Wei's "Asymmetry of Verification" and Verifier's Rule. 

As a refresher, the Kano Model maps out on a 2x2 Customer Satisfaction and Customer Expectations with three curves representing a service or product's attributes across Excitement (capabilities that are differentiated and emotional), Performance (capabilities that leading but not highly differentiated), and Threshold (capabilities that are expected by the market -- bare minimum requirements.)

Here's an example:


Let's hold that thought.

Jason Wei wrote in 2025 a canonical post reflecting on the breakthroughs of Reinforcement Learning and scaling laws about an idea he defined as Verifier's Rule. He also gave a talk at Stanford's AI Club which I highly recommend watching. 

"Verifier's rule: The ease of training AI to solve a task is proportional to how verifiable the task is. All tasks that are possible to solve and easy to verify will be solved by AI."

Now in order to verify something, we should understand the Asymmetry of Verification. 
Essentially, some tasks are much easier to verity a solution than to actually find the solution. 

Here are some examples from the Stanford AI Club talk:



So if we take these two ideas together what we get is something like:

Client expectations change with the commodization of any service. People can buy very expensive things with one click these days online (Teslas, Satellite orders, etc.) Assume that someone will figure out how to do this in services as well in some manor with a high attention to customer service. 

------------------------------
George Valdes Assoc. AIA
Toolblocks.app - AI Native CRM for AEC
St. Petersburg FL
------------------------------

I manage a small architectural office of 8 people. Regarding: What changes should young professionals be preparing for today?

Current "AI Tech" provides productivity improvements in visualization and management that's useful but nothing earth shattering or job destroying. Still learning use what Ai tech that is available is obviously a good skill to have.  However, the best way to prepare for change is pay attention.   A lot of people try to ignore what they fear or don't understand and that is not good.  As a pro, I think it's important that we learn how to listen better.  Continue to think and adapt so we can continue to grow. 

Also these days, young people seem to value work life balance more than the older generations.  I love that and we should all support it.  I think this is what means to say that "it's not all about the money".  I think AI will help with that.  I tell young grads the idea of AI taking over their jobs is silly.  Because of AI there will be more architectural jobs in the future.  Architects know Mies' fav mantra: "less is more".  Well I think AI will let architects do more with less and therefore more people will be able to afford architects.  Architect for the masses!

Ultimately, I think we'll have to learn to work collaboratively with AI.  The relationship will be less like architect has with cad software but more like one with a very smart person.  Obviously the current tech is nowhere near that capable.  But within 5 years?...I doubt it but hopeful.

I think being an architect is already pretty awesome.   Eventually, AI will be that perfect partner who loves to do all the mundane stuff we hate to do, take care all the technical stuff with no mistakes, remind me of zoom meetings I forget sometimes and drive me to project sites when I'm tired (wait it does that already, haha).  

Maybe I'm way off base here, but the first two responses I saw to this question looked like AI-generated (and then, I assume, human-edited) responses. If correct, this points to the main problem I have with AI right now, which is that I am getting longer and longer emails from clients, full of questions needing my response, but clearly not coming from an actual human mind. It's frustrating because it feels like I'm being asked to spend a lot of time reading and generating responses to things that no one actually cares about--but AI told them to ask. I guess I could use AI to generate responses, but as the one with a professional license, I actually have to be responsible for the information I send. Plus, what's the point if it's just a bunch of AIs talking to each other?

Signed,
Your Friendly Curmudgeon

------------------------------
Ian Toner AIA
Toner Architects
Philadelphia PA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 06-18-2026 10:25 AM
From: Benjamin Horten, AIA
Subject: What Architectural Tasks Will AI Completely Take Over Within the Next 5 Years?

I manage a small architectural office of 8 people. Regarding: What changes should young professionals be preparing for today?

Current "AI Tech" provides productivity improvements in visualization and management that's useful but nothing earth shattering or job destroying. Still learning use what Ai tech that is available is obviously a good skill to have.  However, the best way to prepare for change is pay attention.   A lot of people try to ignore what they fear or don't understand and that is not good.  As a pro, I think it's important that we learn how to listen better.  Continue to think and adapt so we can continue to grow. 

Also these days, young people seem to value work life balance more than the older generations.  I love that and we should all support it.  I think this is what means to say that "it's not all about the money".  I think AI will help with that.  I tell young grads the idea of AI taking over their jobs is silly.  Because of AI there will be more architectural jobs in the future.  Architects know Mies' fav mantra: "less is more".  Well I think AI will let architects do more with less and therefore more people will be able to afford architects.  Architect for the masses!

Ultimately, I think we'll have to learn to work collaboratively with AI.  The relationship will be less like architect has with cad software but more like one with a very smart person.  Obviously the current tech is nowhere near that capable.  But within 5 years?...I doubt it but hopeful.

I think being an architect is already pretty awesome.   Eventually, AI will be that perfect partner who loves to do all the mundane stuff we hate to do, take care all the technical stuff with no mistakes, remind me of zoom meetings I forget sometimes and drive me to project sites when I'm tired (wait it does that already, haha).  

------------------------------
Benjamin Horten AIA
Ben Horten Architecture & Design
Randolph NJ
------------------------------

Maybe I'm way off base here, but the first two responses I saw to this question looked like AI-generated (and then, I assume, human-edited) responses. If correct, this points to the main problem I have with AI right now, which is that I am getting longer and longer emails from clients, full of questions needing my response, but clearly not coming from an actual human mind. It's frustrating because it feels like I'm being asked to spend a lot of time reading and generating responses to things that no one actually cares about--but AI told them to ask. I guess I could use AI to generate responses, but as the one with a professional license, I actually have to be responsible for the information I send. Plus, what's the point if it's just a bunch of AIs talking to each other?

Signed,
Your Friendly Curmudgeon

I manage a small architectural office of 8 people. Regarding: What changes should young professionals be preparing for today?

Current "AI Tech" provides productivity improvements in visualization and management that's useful but nothing earth shattering or job destroying. Still learning use what Ai tech that is available is obviously a good skill to have.  However, the best way to prepare for change is pay attention.   A lot of people try to ignore what they fear or don't understand and that is not good.  As a pro, I think it's important that we learn how to listen better.  Continue to think and adapt so we can continue to grow. 

Also these days, young people seem to value work life balance more than the older generations.  I love that and we should all support it.  I think this is what means to say that "it's not all about the money".  I think AI will help with that.  I tell young grads the idea of AI taking over their jobs is silly.  Because of AI there will be more architectural jobs in the future.  Architects know Mies' fav mantra: "less is more".  Well I think AI will let architects do more with less and therefore more people will be able to afford architects.  Architect for the masses!

Ultimately, I think we'll have to learn to work collaboratively with AI.  The relationship will be less like architect has with cad software but more like one with a very smart person.  Obviously the current tech is nowhere near that capable.  But within 5 years?...I doubt it but hopeful.

I think being an architect is already pretty awesome.   Eventually, AI will be that perfect partner who loves to do all the mundane stuff we hate to do, take care all the technical stuff with no mistakes, remind me of zoom meetings I forget sometimes and drive me to project sites when I'm tired (wait it does that already, haha).  

Maybe I'm way off base here, but the first two responses I saw to this question looked like AI-generated (and then, I assume, human-edited) responses. If correct, this points to the main problem I have with AI right now, which is that I am getting longer and longer emails from clients, full of questions needing my response, but clearly not coming from an actual human mind. It's frustrating because it feels like I'm being asked to spend a lot of time reading and generating responses to things that no one actually cares about--but AI told them to ask. I guess I could use AI to generate responses, but as the one with a professional license, I actually have to be responsible for the information I send. Plus, what's the point if it's just a bunch of AIs talking to each other?

Signed,
Your Friendly Curmudgeon

------------------------------
Ian Toner AIA
Toner Architects
Philadelphia PA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 06-18-2026 10:25 AM
From: Benjamin Horten, AIA
Subject: What Architectural Tasks Will AI Completely Take Over Within the Next 5 Years?

I manage a small architectural office of 8 people. Regarding: What changes should young professionals be preparing for today?

Current "AI Tech" provides productivity improvements in visualization and management that's useful but nothing earth shattering or job destroying. Still learning use what Ai tech that is available is obviously a good skill to have.  However, the best way to prepare for change is pay attention.   A lot of people try to ignore what they fear or don't understand and that is not good.  As a pro, I think it's important that we learn how to listen better.  Continue to think and adapt so we can continue to grow. 

Also these days, young people seem to value work life balance more than the older generations.  I love that and we should all support it.  I think this is what means to say that "it's not all about the money".  I think AI will help with that.  I tell young grads the idea of AI taking over their jobs is silly.  Because of AI there will be more architectural jobs in the future.  Architects know Mies' fav mantra: "less is more".  Well I think AI will let architects do more with less and therefore more people will be able to afford architects.  Architect for the masses!

Ultimately, I think we'll have to learn to work collaboratively with AI.  The relationship will be less like architect has with cad software but more like one with a very smart person.  Obviously the current tech is nowhere near that capable.  But within 5 years?...I doubt it but hopeful.

I think being an architect is already pretty awesome.   Eventually, AI will be that perfect partner who loves to do all the mundane stuff we hate to do, take care all the technical stuff with no mistakes, remind me of zoom meetings I forget sometimes and drive me to project sites when I'm tired (wait it does that already, haha).  

------------------------------
Benjamin Horten AIA
Ben Horten Architecture & Design
Randolph NJ
------------------------------

@Ian Toner, AIA, 100% I feel ya!

I am excited about the technology ahead, but I do have concerns about the quality of what is being generated, especially when content is simply copied and pasted without human judgment or editing.
No matter how much we automate, everything still needs to go through a rigorous QA/QC process and humanize it! not perfect-it!. People are already starting to recognize patterns in AI-generated content, and it can become obvious when that human layer is missing.
I even notice it in everyday interactions, like messages that feel overly scripted. It makes me wonder,

Are we getting to a point where AI is just talking to AI? 

Are we losing part of the human connection in the process?

I agree with you, @William Robertson, AIA , Soft skills are becoming even more critical. Lately, I've been creating a few custom agents not to give me answers, but to help me think more deeply and grow personally. 

------------------------------
Thesla Collier
HNTB, AIA TAP LG member
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 06-19-2026 09:54 AM
From: Ian Toner, AIA
Subject: What Architectural Tasks Will AI Completely Take Over Within the Next 5 Years?

Maybe I'm way off base here, but the first two responses I saw to this question looked like AI-generated (and then, I assume, human-edited) responses. If correct, this points to the main problem I have with AI right now, which is that I am getting longer and longer emails from clients, full of questions needing my response, but clearly not coming from an actual human mind. It's frustrating because it feels like I'm being asked to spend a lot of time reading and generating responses to things that no one actually cares about--but AI told them to ask. I guess I could use AI to generate responses, but as the one with a professional license, I actually have to be responsible for the information I send. Plus, what's the point if it's just a bunch of AIs talking to each other?

Signed,
Your Friendly Curmudgeon

------------------------------
Ian Toner AIA
Toner Architects
Philadelphia PA
------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 06-18-2026 10:25 AM
From: Benjamin Horten, AIA
Subject: What Architectural Tasks Will AI Completely Take Over Within the Next 5 Years?

I manage a small architectural office of 8 people. Regarding: What changes should young professionals be preparing for today?

Current "AI Tech" provides productivity improvements in visualization and management that's useful but nothing earth shattering or job destroying. Still learning use what Ai tech that is available is obviously a good skill to have.  However, the best way to prepare for change is pay attention.   A lot of people try to ignore what they fear or don't understand and that is not good.  As a pro, I think it's important that we learn how to listen better.  Continue to think and adapt so we can continue to grow. 

Also these days, young people seem to value work life balance more than the older generations.  I love that and we should all support it.  I think this is what means to say that "it's not all about the money".  I think AI will help with that.  I tell young grads the idea of AI taking over their jobs is silly.  Because of AI there will be more architectural jobs in the future.  Architects know Mies' fav mantra: "less is more".  Well I think AI will let architects do more with less and therefore more people will be able to afford architects.  Architect for the masses!

Ultimately, I think we'll have to learn to work collaboratively with AI.  The relationship will be less like architect has with cad software but more like one with a very smart person.  Obviously the current tech is nowhere near that capable.  But within 5 years?...I doubt it but hopeful.

I think being an architect is already pretty awesome.   Eventually, AI will be that perfect partner who loves to do all the mundane stuff we hate to do, take care all the technical stuff with no mistakes, remind me of zoom meetings I forget sometimes and drive me to project sites when I'm tired (wait it does that already, haha).  

------------------------------
Benjamin Horten AIA
Ben Horten Architecture & Design
Randolph NJ
------------------------------

@Ian Toner, AIA, 100% I feel ya!

I am excited about the technology ahead, but I do have concerns about the quality of what is being generated, especially when content is simply copied and pasted without human judgment or editing.
No matter how much we automate, everything still needs to go through a rigorous QA/QC process and humanize it! not perfect-it!. People are already starting to recognize patterns in AI-generated content, and it can become obvious when that human layer is missing.
I even notice it in everyday interactions, like messages that feel overly scripted. It makes me wonder,

Are we getting to a point where AI is just talking to AI? 

Are we losing part of the human connection in the process?

I agree with you, @William Robertson, AIA , Soft skills are becoming even more critical. Lately, I've been creating a few custom agents not to give me answers, but to help me think more deeply and grow personally. 

------------------------------
Thesla Collier
HNTB, AIA TAP LG member
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 06-19-2026 09:54 AM
From: Ian Toner, AIA
Subject: What Architectural Tasks Will AI Completely Take Over Within the Next 5 Years?

Maybe I'm way off base here, but the first two responses I saw to this question looked like AI-generated (and then, I assume, human-edited) responses. If correct, this points to the main problem I have with AI right now, which is that I am getting longer and longer emails from clients, full of questions needing my response, but clearly not coming from an actual human mind. It's frustrating because it feels like I'm being asked to spend a lot of time reading and generating responses to things that no one actually cares about--but AI told them to ask. I guess I could use AI to generate responses, but as the one with a professional license, I actually have to be responsible for the information I send. Plus, what's the point if it's just a bunch of AIs talking to each other?

Signed,
Your Friendly Curmudgeon

------------------------------
Ian Toner AIA
Toner Architects
Philadelphia PA
------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 06-18-2026 10:25 AM
From: Benjamin Horten, AIA
Subject: What Architectural Tasks Will AI Completely Take Over Within the Next 5 Years?

I manage a small architectural office of 8 people. Regarding: What changes should young professionals be preparing for today?

Current "AI Tech" provides productivity improvements in visualization and management that's useful but nothing earth shattering or job destroying. Still learning use what Ai tech that is available is obviously a good skill to have.  However, the best way to prepare for change is pay attention.   A lot of people try to ignore what they fear or don't understand and that is not good.  As a pro, I think it's important that we learn how to listen better.  Continue to think and adapt so we can continue to grow. 

Also these days, young people seem to value work life balance more than the older generations.  I love that and we should all support it.  I think this is what means to say that "it's not all about the money".  I think AI will help with that.  I tell young grads the idea of AI taking over their jobs is silly.  Because of AI there will be more architectural jobs in the future.  Architects know Mies' fav mantra: "less is more".  Well I think AI will let architects do more with less and therefore more people will be able to afford architects.  Architect for the masses!

Ultimately, I think we'll have to learn to work collaboratively with AI.  The relationship will be less like architect has with cad software but more like one with a very smart person.  Obviously the current tech is nowhere near that capable.  But within 5 years?...I doubt it but hopeful.

I think being an architect is already pretty awesome.   Eventually, AI will be that perfect partner who loves to do all the mundane stuff we hate to do, take care all the technical stuff with no mistakes, remind me of zoom meetings I forget sometimes and drive me to project sites when I'm tired (wait it does that already, haha).  

------------------------------
Benjamin Horten AIA
Ben Horten Architecture & Design
Randolph NJ
------------------------------

I manage a small architectural office of 8 people. Regarding: What changes should young professionals be preparing for today?

Current "AI Tech" provides productivity improvements in visualization and management that's useful but nothing earth shattering or job destroying. Still learning use what Ai tech that is available is obviously a good skill to have.  However, the best way to prepare for change is pay attention.   A lot of people try to ignore what they fear or don't understand and that is not good.  As a pro, I think it's important that we learn how to listen better.  Continue to think and adapt so we can continue to grow. 

Also these days, young people seem to value work life balance more than the older generations.  I love that and we should all support it.  I think this is what means to say that "it's not all about the money".  I think AI will help with that.  I tell young grads the idea of AI taking over their jobs is silly.  Because of AI there will be more architectural jobs in the future.  Architects know Mies' fav mantra: "less is more".  Well I think AI will let architects do more with less and therefore more people will be able to afford architects.  Architect for the masses!

Ultimately, I think we'll have to learn to work collaboratively with AI.  The relationship will be less like architect has with cad software but more like one with a very smart person.  Obviously the current tech is nowhere near that capable.  But within 5 years?...I doubt it but hopeful.

I think being an architect is already pretty awesome.   Eventually, AI will be that perfect partner who loves to do all the mundane stuff we hate to do, take care all the technical stuff with no mistakes, remind me of zoom meetings I forget sometimes and drive me to project sites when I'm tired (wait it does that already, haha).