The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has issued a statement on artificial intelligence (AI) in architecture.

While it notes that AI tools are already being used across the built environment for research, concept generation, visualization, and other tasks, and can help architects when used thoughtfully, these tools raise significant professional, ethical, legal, educational, and environmental questions that require careful leadership.

The RAIC affirms that architecture is a human-centred profession in service of the public interest. It says that AI may assist in practice, but it does not replace the architect’s “duty of care, professional judgment, ethical responsibility, or accountability for the work carried out under their supervision.”

“The architect remains responsible for validating information, exercising critical judgment, protecting the interests of clients and the public, and ensuring that decisions affecting the built environment are informed by human expertise, context, and values,” says the RAIC.