AI INSIDE

With the assimilation of artificial intelligence (AI) in all aspects of modern life a foregone conclusion, the most pressing question is not when, but how, to govern the burgeoning technology, says award-winning architect and proponent of Al, Gaurang Khemka.

- Alvin Wong

Gaurang Khemka remembers the moment that sparked his interest in architecture. He was attending high school in Delhi and the red-bricked building he was in suddenly stirred up some strong emotions. “I felt curious and inspired,” he recalls. “I wondered who designed the building and really wanted to meet the architect. I don’t know why, though. No one in my family was an architect.”

After more than 25 years in the trade, Khemka, who now runs his own architecture firm, UrbnArc, and lectures at the National University of Singapore (NUS), has witnessed the industry’s transformations and embrace of new trends and technologies. None, however, inspires and intrigues him as the advent of artificial intelligence (AI).

Though in its infancy, the explosive birth and evolution of AI has thrilled and confounded Khemka and his peers in equal measure. Broadly, AI is a branch of computer science that aims to create software and machines capable of performing tasks that would typically require human intelligence, from generating ideas to decision-making. Used as a tool to supercharge creativity, AI can be seductive or frightening, depending on which architect you ask. Would a young Khemka, for instance, still be struck with serendipitous moments of inspiration if he had grown up using AI?

“Absolutely,” he says. “In fact, I would think even more so. AI inspires us to think out of the box and can point us to ideas that would otherwise have escaped us.”

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