‘A danger to humanity’ it is often called, and a tool that will make ‘many jobs become obsolete’: in the media one reads daily about the supposed drawbacks of artificial intelligence. AI seems to be something you either love or stay far away from. We are mainly curious about it. For this book, titled Powered by AI, we joined forces with LOLA landscape architects and together we set out to explore.

Artificial Intelligence has quickly become an indispensable tool in the world of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and design. Discussions with leading designers, scientists and artists – such as Piet Oudolf, Refik Anadol, Peter Veenstra and Carlos Bañón –  explore the (creative) power and significance of AI. What are its possibilities and dangers? How does it change the designer's work process? What are the implications of AI for spatial planning?

‘The more we use AI, the more human we can be,’ AI-artist Carlos Bañón believes. To him, AI feels like a liberation. Buildings and landscapes become alive, responsive and dynamic in times of artificial intelligence. In this issue, the visual artworks of both Bañón and AI-artist Refik Anadol are included, and the artists and their fascinating practices and inspirations are portrayed.

This book is all about the consequences of AI for the profession of landscape architects and urban planners. Will AI eventually lead to the end of the design office as we know it? Together with four landscape architects and urban designers in the field, we map out how some of the large design firms make use of AI and how it changes their office and practice. In the same vein, we investigate what generative tools can boost your practice as a landscape architect, and we ask the question what a good landscape AI may look like. Geographic design manager Ilmar Hurxkens explains if and how to apply AI to landscape planning, addressing the ever-increasing complexity between urban infrastructure, natural systems and evolving climate.

Diving deeper into these natural systems, we found Leen Gorissen, a biologist specialized in ecology. She states that ‘AI is nothing more than Western prejudices cast in code.’ Opposed to artificial intelligence, she juxtaposes natural intelligence: nature’s ability to survive and thrive on a constantly changing planet. ‘Where AI represents the current Western human logic, NI represents the logic of life that has gone on for millions of years, and there is still a huge amount to learn about this,’ she states. In an interview, Gorissen explains what she believes can be learned from natural intelligence, and she sheds her light on the question whether AI can help us to better understand it.

She is not the only one who questions the celebratory, positive and progressive perspective on AI. In a background article, we present an overview of the possible negative implications and dark sides of AI, both in the context of landscape architecture and urban planning as more broadly – for democratic societies as a whole. Energy consumption, the speading of false information, poor working conditions and uniform, generic and even stereotypical outputs are only a few of the examples. The questions we aim to answer: since AI is here to stay, how can the sector become more sustainable? And can AI help to develop the tools needed to make sound decisions regarding AI and the global race to net-zero emissions?

Also in this book:  the future of AI with Koert van Mensvoort, a battle between AI and landscape and garden architect Piet Oudolf, a review of the world’s first AI Campus in Heilbronn, and tips on what more to read and listen to.

In short: ‘Sit back, explore and be amazed. AI offers many possibilities!’

/ With interviews, reports, reviews, essays, intermezzo’s, visual stories and much more

Please note that this book is also available as an issue of 'scape magazine. Click here for more information.