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| dc.contributor.author | Maxwell, Mitchell | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-05-02T14:36:36Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-05-02T14:36:36Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-04-29 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10429/2459 | |
| dc.description | Identity is an important factor in how humans interact and live. It is the process by which we view and interact in the world. This consists broadly of how we each uniquely view the world but still have many shared ideas. In many aspects, to define something we use names but in reality, those names are only concepts of the thing we wish to describe. And the name only means something to someone if they have had prior experience with it or a similar object. With research into Psychology of the Brain, Phenomenology of the self, the commodification of the self; it can be seen how these elements have an effect on the built world of Architecture. However, due to the increase and ongoing advancement of technology, architecture, like many other fields, has had to adapt. But until the recent digital age, it has been able to rely on basic, almost ancient, techniques for actual drafting and schematic work. However, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, we will be confronted with a new way to design that will prove to outpace that of traditional work. Due to the ability of Technology (particularly the computer) to remember and perform tasks repeatedly and consistently through many iterations while proving to be very effective, one of those capacities is for mass data calculations and comparisons. Because Humans have a tendency to be lazy as well as a desire for the best things then AI will prove to be a very useful asset of design. In Reviewing theorists like Rudolf Steiner, Sarah Williams Goldhagen, and Jean-Francois Lyotard and others there are a variety of ways of looking at identity and methods they have approached identity in the past. They have viewed the experience of living through phenomenology, sensory inputs, functionalism, behaviorism and others but this thesis looks at it through a lens that can be understood through a computer. Since the only way to determine an identity that a computer can understand is through the reactions or outputs manifested through a person’s actions. This identity would be more of an identity would be more of an identity that can be analyzed through syntax of the manifested behaviors. This work looks at how identity is formed. Specifically, in what ways people take the experience of living and translate it into their own identity. Looking at the scale of the Individual, Identity being defined as the factoidal collation of human experiences interlaced with human interpretations and actions in comparison to that of other creatures of similar type. These experiences are the internal manifestations of being as to the self’s interpretations of it. Identity is built up with a few core pieces, The Constant flow of experience (recorded by the senses), Agency (our ability to analyze the experience and act on it) and the Memory (our ability to reflect on the experience over time). These elements are the core pieces with which that identity can be Commodified. Commodification being the process by which you take an object or concept and turn it into something that can be bought, sold or traded because of its new perceived value. This study has looked at Artificial Intelligence (an evolving smart decision-making computer program) and the components and capacities that it promises. The components being data (factual information about a topic that can be compared through categorization and value), Machine learning (the process by which AI learns what and how to program), and the Code Language (the actual rules that the AI follows) and the User Interface (the platform by which a person interacts directly with the program). This study seeks to uncover how the use of AI and the commodification of the self will change with the way humans design, perceive, and interact with the world. The intent is to see how this small change to the core of human experience will settle into the built world at large while humans struggle to maintain their view of the unique self. It primarily tries to address the following questions: What is Identity? In the context of how it is formed and manifest in the world at large. How can Identity be commodified or adapts to the use of technology? Why do we seek Commodification of ourselves? Or do we see something else as being the predominate form of Self? How does AI work on a functional level? How AI is being used in Architecture currently? How can AI be used with commodification of identity? Starting with the Phenomenological approach to the project, the study attempts to compare and understand how identity is manifest through people despite their unique differences. But even in this point of view there is an infinite view of ideas on how the world exists. It takes the premise that identity can be determined, in a practical application, only through the reactions of individuals to the experiences that they see and interact with. These reactions to experience unfolding would then need to be converted into an encoded dataset that an AI would be able to understand. From there the data would be sorted through a data analysis that would determine a comprehensive understanding of an individual’s identity in and with a comparison to a larger set of data. From this data set it would be able to take that as an input for an AI to use. This data would then process through a drawing machine module that determines an appropriate design layout and aesthetic. The drawing module would need to be trained on a large data set of common trends of human behavior. Commodification of identity has always been happening and will continue as long as it is viewed as profitable. All of history has been driven by money and that is not about to change anytime soon. In the construction world it has taken the form of production housing. This type of model of building and design reduces costs as well as availability. In looking at AI there have been many applications coming forward on how to implement it into mundane tasks that are repetitive. In being able to convert the current process of production building with a tool that could further reduce costs and times is bound to happen. When trying to commodify identity through the use of a survey and turning it into a premise for design criteria. I noticed that some information would always be relevant and other aspects not so much on the surface. Having a system to further define and analyze the data could provide further insight into the patterns of human design. AI because of it’s complex nature has been fantasied to oblivion. There are a lot of erroneous ideas on how it actually works and so there naturally is a lot of confusion surrounding how it works and if it will come alive. These ideas do not hold up to scrunty when examined against actual programing of computers. There are also lots of concerns about whether or not to develop this technology. That this is a problem of ethics and morals. But just as machines have made our lives more comfortable AI will do the same for human living in many categories. It would also be able to, if programed to do so, look at safety of design and find potential problems and diagnosis strategies for better implementation of solutions. And above all human life is considered the most valuable asset to humanity. And any life that could be saved or improved would prove to be more valuable than any generation of Architects could do solely. A life where there would be no building failures would save thousands of potential lives. When looking at it form a replacement standpoint, it taking away jobs from humans, but that is really just going to be a movement of delaying the inevitable. The technology exists and there will always be someone looking to make things faster and a higher quality, with less effort put in. Due to this naturally human behavior as well as the technology existing means that it will happen it is just a matter of when. In fighting to shut it down will only slow its progress and delay future advancement of all kinds. AI is here to stay it is more of a question on how to use it. Because historically when people have opted to not use technology to improve craft or production, they are replaced by those that due. Human progress is a steady forward motion and AI will leap us forward in a way not ever seen before. Due to my limited programing skills and expertise in technical computer programing showing a fully functional model of the AI would be impossible for me to produce. Another limitation to the project is access to the data that would need to be given to an AI for its preapplication learning and training. Some of this data has been becoming available and it will only be a matter of time before similar functioning AI’s hit the market. Due to the nature of technological history, the construction industry particularly from production builders, will push for less costly methods of construction. The market will thus require them to develop these tools as well. As Architects this could mean an acquisition of our field if we failed to do so as well. This is the process by which we currently design. As designers we undertake the role of a commodifier and use our expertise to build a design that matches a person’s interests. Because of AI’s ability to store larger amounts of data then a single human could possess, It would be able to effectively design in the same pattern of behavior but with more knowledge than a human could be able to do on their own. It would be able to see options that due to lack of knowledge of by a single human, would be more effective in any measurable aspect. By humans training it they would be able to teach us about things that would be harder or less likely to come across. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis explores how Identity is being commodified in architecture and how this may be impacted through the use of artificial intelligence. Due to the construction costs of building and design, buildings have become not just a product of individuals but of builders and real estate developers. In order to develop the projects to benefit the majority of people, builders have simplified design and developed systems of production that reduce costs, time, and labor while maintaining a sense of unique and individualistic design. The goal of this thesis is to look at how Artificial Intelligence could be used as a tool to assist the design process and allow architects the ability to take advantage of the same principles or understandings that production builders use. A phenomenological study method was used to examine the concept of identity and diagraming how identity may appear in order to find the elements that could be measured and examined as well as other factors that may influence human experience. A second method that was implemented was to look at production-built homes and how those homes have been constructed to reduce costs. How production construction uses similar floor plan arrangements and covering the floor plan of a house in masks that face the street. These masks giving the appearance of unique homes but being only imitations thereof. Another method was composing a survey completed by 30 individuals to find common elements of preferences and mapping those to design that then through commonalities was fed into an image-based AI as a tool to generate design that would reflect those preferences. One of the findings was that although preferences are able to influence AI generated design, AIs need to be trained for tasks is still apparent and needed. AI needs databases so that it can produce desired results. | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Blurb Bookstore | en_US |
| dc.subject | Artificial Intelligence | en_US |
| dc.subject | Commodification | en_US |
| dc.subject | Identity | en_US |
| dc.subject | AI | en_US |
| dc.title | Commodification of Identity | en_US |
| dc.title.alternative | Architecture and Artificial Intelligence | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
