AI-generated art has advanced so much recently, it’s winning first prize in fine arts competitions meant for human artists. Programs like DALL-E and Midjourney make it possible to produce surprisingly beautiful, nuanced works of art just by entering text-based prompts. This development is stirring up a lot of controversy and ethical concerns, and rightfully so.

Would we really want to insert architecture into existing groves of sensitive, slow-growing, and endangered redwoods" Definitely not, but that’s not really the point. Just because our existing construction methods, materials, and technologies aren’t capable of producing safe and durable buildings that look like this doesn’t mean we can’t develop new ones that can. Working backwards from fantastical ideas could produce amazing innovations that allow us to burst out of our minimalist architectural stagnancy. For instance, it’s not that hard to imagine something like a naturally reproducing fungus-based material growing to a desired shape and size around a framework of modular living pods with an appearance resembling these giant inhabitable trees. ...