Defining the Boundary Between Tool and Judgment: Perceptions of Appropriate AI Use in Landscape Architecture

by Hui Li, Student ASLA, and Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, SITES AP

Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving the digital transformation of landscape architecture practice. As a profession spanning the humanities, art, ecology, and engineering, landscape architecture requires practitioners to make judgments based on site conditions, public needs, and potential impacts, while remaining accountable for regulatory compliance, public safety, and ecological outcomes. It is therefore important to understand how professionals view the appropriate extent of AI involvement in their work.

We're inviting landscape architecture professionals, faculty, and students (18+) to participate in a research study: Defining the Boundary Between Tool and Judgment: Perceptions of Appropriate AI Use in Landscape Architecture. This survey aims to understand which AI-assisted tasks are perceived as appropriate professional support and which are seen as inappropriate intrusions into professional judgment, how these perceptions relate to professional identity and responsibility, and what factors people consider when judging whether AI use is appropriate. The findings will help deepen understanding of the appropriate uses, potential risks, and practical challenges of AI in landscape architecture and inform professional education and responsible AI use.

Survey link: https://uconn.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_81ZZKh10i2Ji0BM

You are also encouraged to share this survey with colleagues and contacts involved in landscape architecture planning, design practice, research, or education. The first round of the survey will continue through the end of November, but the survey link will remain active afterward for additional responses.

The survey is completely voluntary and will take 10-12 minutes of your time. You may stop the survey at any time. This study was determined to be exempt by the University of Connecticut's Institutional Review Board (Protocol: X26-0106). Thank you for your participation in this survey! Your perspectives will help us better understand how AI is perceived and used across landscape architecture education and practice.

Background: digital image generated using ChatGPT (OpenAI)

This project is led by Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, SITES AP, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Director of the Sustainable Urban Planning and Ecology Lab, and Hui Li, Student ASLA, a Ph.D. student in Landscape Architecture and Graduate Assistant in the lab, both at the University of Connecticut.

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