What happens when the sensor-imbued city acquires the ability to see – almost as if it had eyes? Ahead of the 2019 Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (UABB), titled "Urban Interactions," ArchDaily is working with the curators of the "Eyes of the City" section at the Biennial to stimulate a discussion on how new technologies – and Artificial Intelligence in particular – might impact architecture and urban life. Here you can read the “Eyes of the City” curatorial statement by Carlo Ratti, the Politecnico di Torino and SCUT.
In his Nova Scientia (1537), Nicola Tartaglia demonstrates that a certain use of the goniometer allows for a better calculation of the trajectory of cannonballs, and is therefore useful to win the wars fought by the sovereign. Now, we all know that artificial intelligence, just like the protractor, helps win wars. But what if we do not know which war we are fighting? What if we do not know where and against whom we should fire the cannon?
This question well describes the operational perspective of architectural design, which knows that it must win a war but does not yet know exactly which. In order to understand how artificial intelligence can influence architectural design in a non-deterministic way, it is necessary to examine how intelligence, whether human or artificial, works.
