News roundup: AI and the human vector in architecture, plus other updates on artificial intelligence

For PropertyGuru’s news roundup, we focus on artificial intelligence (AI). Architects using AI must embrace emotional engagement and empathy. In other headlines, the Philippines surpassed the global average usage of AI in workplaces. However, a cautious note: a new report from investment bank Goldman Sachs raises doubt on the profitability of generative AI.

AI and the human vector in architecture: Embracing emotional engagement and empathy

The profession of architecture is often referred to as one of the world’s two oldest. It has traditionally been the space of dreamers imagining new worlds and new ways of living. For much of this time, we have used machines to construct buildings and cities. As science has progressed from the mechanical to the digital enabling us to dream at levels beyond the contractor’s toolbox, with new forms of construction, and with that came shifts in the design process. First as digital design with the use of 3D modeling, and now with the advent of AI the limits have expanded again.

While AI itself is relatively new, it is part of a centuries-old dynamic between humans and machines. We as humans tend to react with suspicion and/or elation relative to the introduction of new technologies. Fortunately, time has proven that most technologies provide substantial benefits to humankind. The success of this happens not with the introduction of the change itself, but rather in how we adapt to that technology and how we change the technology to better suit our needs. AI will be no different. As with most paradox dynamics, a balance of both provides the healthiest outcomes.

In that spirit, ArchDaily explores the aspects of design that AI currently cannot master. This involves asking a provocative question: “What does it mean to be human?” One part of the answer is in the fundamental human element of care, which architects at their best integrate as part of what they describe as their design intent. A capacity for empathy is one of the most important traits that differentiates us as humans.

Leveraging AI to upskill workforce in the Philippines

With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) usage across different industries, companies invest in knowledgeable workers capable of adapting to this technology according to Veemal Gungadin, Co-Founder and CEO of GevMe.

“In the Philippines, there are people who are really early adopters who are actually excited with AI… I think leveraging the early adopters is the way to go about that at an organizational level,” Mr. Gungadin said last 11th July at the Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions, Exhibitions Conference (M.I.C.E. CON) 2024.

A recent study released by Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn on 23rd May revealed that the Philippines surpassed the global average usage of AI in workplaces, with 86 percent of Filipino knowledge workers using AI in their outputs. Additionally, 70 percent of executives in the Philippines prefer recruiting individuals with AI expertise, while 68 percent opt for hiring a less seasoned candidate with AI skills over a more experienced one.

Mr. Gungadin added that learning about AI makes you more valuable as an employee. “The best thing is to get equipped with AI so that you make yourself more valuable in your company,” he said in BusinessWorld.

New Goldman Sachs report questions profitability of generative AI

A new report from investment bank Goldman Sachs raises doubt on the profitability of generative AI. It details the belief that the technology’s cost-benefit analysis is uneven as it has high barrier walls for progression whilst giving minimal increases in productivity in the present and near future.

BluPrint reports that the company newsletter, entitled “Gen AI: Too Much Spend, Too Little Benefit?” emerges as the first pessimistic account of artificial intelligence from an investment perspective, as the company worries about the massive spending on the technology with little to show for it.

The newsletter points out different factors that should drive pessimism among investors. Among them are AI’s power usage, the current monopoly of viable chips to one company, potential future shortages, and a lack of a “killer application” that could allow for mass adoption for businesses.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].