Will AI take our jobs?

Some of us are hesitant to even type "Chat GPT" into a search engine because we believe putting it to use is fueling the machine.

We may have friends whose jobs have been replaced by AI. We may believe that by using AI we are contributing to the downfall of humanity. How far away are we as construction professionals from losing our jobs to AI? Will those of us working on computers be the first to go while the "blue collar" workers will be hard to replace? Will AI be able to build homes? Is it cost effective? How long do we have? In the next 10 years will architects be a thing of the past? Will project managers be replaced with automation?

These are questions I have pondered. I decided to do my own research. I started listening to podcasts made by AI experts such as Jenna Gaidusek's AI for Interior Designers Podcast. After some research I decided it was time to give it a try starting with the highly spoken of Chat GPT 4o a try. I named Chat GPT "Gerri". From here on out I will call Chat GPT "Gerri".

I asked Gerri to give me photorealistic rendering given the following photos:

Each selection had a link so that Jerri could access more images if needed. Here's what I got:

Wrong vanity, wrong tile... what are those hooks (not shelves) above the toilet? Lighting not centered.

I knew from my research that it would take many iterations. So I explained everything that was wrong and got this:

Still not the right tile, lights different but well-placed... I guess AI doesn't know much about how toilets work. Jerri changed my floor plan.

I explain the issues including that the wall tile scale is off and not the right pattern. Here's what comes next:

Closer...but the tile is still not right and now the shower is totally wrong. I don't give up. Next:

Ok...While this image is quite nice, the layout and tile is still not right.

I tell Jerri the truth - I don't think Chat GPT is capable of making accurate renderings. Jerri is apologetic and attempts to convince me to keep trying. I lose faith. You could argue that perhaps I wasn't using the correct language to explain what I wanted but the fact that I reiterated several times that the layout was initially correct and only the finishes needed to be changed, it kept changing the floorplan and placing incorrect tiles. This may work for concept design but I offer photorealistic renderings that reflect each selection exactly not just a "look".

My conclusion is that today AI won't replace what a human can do when it comes to interior design. But who knows what it will be tomorrow, next week or next year. The key is to be in the know. It won't go away by ignoring it. Those who learn how to use it will get ahead. For that reason I will continue to learn the ways it can help my business. For now I will stick to the human version of renderings:

By the way, this post may contain errors because I wrote it, not AI. :)