As AI becomes infrastructure rather than novelty, expectations will shift toward systems that support custom training, respect data boundaries, preserve authorship and operate where design decisions are actually made, writes Roderick Bates of Chaos
In the past year, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly moved from experimentation to expectation in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC). We’ve seen generative tools reshape visualisation, streamline automation documentation and accelerate workflows across the design lifecycle.
In the case of rendering specifically, key areas being disrupted by the implementation of AI include faster iteration design cycles and significant advances in the asset generation phase of a render.
However, as adoption matures and initial excitement settles, a more nuanced question is starting to surface: where should AI live?
Organisations are juggling the adoption of AI while managing constraints such as data privacy, intellectual property, workflow integration, latency and cost predictability. These pressures are challenging the assumption that all AI must live in the cloud.
All of this signals an inflection point, where 2026 will bring the emergence of “Local AI” – operating closer to designers, project data and real production environments. Not as a rejection of the cloud but as a rebalancing towards cost, control and professional responsibility.
Local AI and the return of control
One of the clearest drivers behind Local AI is control. As AI becomes embedded in professional workflows, businesses are becoming increasingly conscious of where their data goes and how it’s used. This is key for the AEC sector as projects often include confidential client information and original design work that can’t be freely shared with public AI tools.
Our recent research highlights growing concern around data boundaries, authorship and governance, particularly as client contracts increasingly restrict how AI tools can process project information.
These constraints naturally favour AI systems that operate within defined, trusted environments – whether that’s on local machines, private infrastructure or tightly managed cloud deployments.
Local AI addresses these concerns by allowing its users to exactly define what intelligence is deployed by placing a clear wall around the data. Aside from the benefits of IP protection and customisation to address specific needs, local deployments will reduce latency, make AI costs far more predictable – all while complying with strict client mandates about data security and IP protection. They’re becoming especially appealing for businesses that need both reliability and innovation.
While AI as a cloud service will remain essential for scale and ease of use, the true winners in the next phase of adoption will be those truly making AI tools their own.
Human insight still defines value
Despite technical advances, AI is not replacing the professional judgment of humans. Architects and designers remain responsible for intent, quality and accountability, particularly as AI outputs become more convincing and easier to over-trust.
AI is most effective when paired with experienced practitioners who can quickly identify errors, and most risky when relied on by those without the expertise to perform a professional-level quality review. While the obvious risk may be technical – for example, blindly trusting the code compliance assessment of AI – there is also a significant risk to the artistic dimensions of design.
As more designers rely on the same AI tools trained on broad, generic datasets, there is a growing risk that the designs start to look similar, even when produced by different authors. Context-aware AI, trained by business-specific references, regional data and the details of individual projects, offers a way to preserve authorship and differentiation rather than diluting it.
Local AI – where designers control the training set, output guardrails and preferences, presents an alternative path: one where AI reflects the expertise, experience and design voice of its creator, rather than producing recursive, homogeneous results.
AI is everywhere
AI is becoming a constant across industries, but widespread availability doesn’t automatically translate into practical value. The most meaningful gains often come not from making tasks faster but from removing friction altogether.
In architecture, this increasingly means embedding intelligence directly into production environments to minimise exports, reworks and information loss. This is where the idea of Local AI starts to connect with how architects actually work – by using locally hosted tools for modelling and visualisation.
When AI ‘lives’ close to data, it responds more quickly and naturally fits into existing workflows. Cloud services will always have latency, requiring significant amounts of data to be uploaded to generate actionable insights and with poor translation back into software function.
Local AI deployments avoid this data round trip, bringing the speed necessary for a seamless workflow and, importantly, setting up the conditions essential for working with sensitive information that is incompatible with a cloud workflow.
Early examples of locally run AI are already emerging inside creative environments. Asset systems, inside design software, are beginning to use AI to adapt to project needs by generating materials from prompts or upscaling rendering images to ultra-high definition.
These aren’t fully local AI systems yet, but they point in the same direction: AI that lives inside the workflow, rather than sitting outside it as a separate step.
Local AI is an outcome, not a trend
Local AI is not a buzzword waiting to be marketed; it’s an outcome of real pressures shaping professional practice. As AI becomes infrastructure rather than novelty, expectations will shift toward systems that support custom training, respect data boundaries, preserve authorship and operate where design decisions are actually made.
The AI cloud services will continue to play a critical role, but they won’t be the default for every task or every workflow. In short, for companies focused on responsible, human-centred innovation, Local AI isn’t a departure from today’s thinking. It’s the logical next step.
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