Teaching with AI: New Pedagogies

Design Ethics and Professional Responsibility in the AI Era 

Speaker:

Lyndal Macpherson, CEO, Architects Accreditation Council of Australia [AACA]

Associate Professor Catherine Evans, Deputy Head of School [Learning and Teaching] Built Environment School UNSW

Associate Professor Nicole Gardner, Director of Computational Design, UNSW

Summary:

Panel 4 will explore the shifting ethical landscape of architectural education and practice as AI becomes increasingly integrated into design processes. Key themes include how to teach students to critically engage with AI, the challenge of accountability in AI-generated decisions, and the role of regulatory bodies in setting ethical standards. The panel will also address concerns around authorship, transparency, and trustworthiness, while considering the implications for accreditation, digital literacy, and the future competencies of architects. Through interdisciplinary insights and practical examples, the discussion aims to foster moral imagination, critical thinking, and responsible innovation in the AI-driven design era.   

This talk was delivered online on 27 Auguest 2025. Talk duration is 51 14 minutes.

Speaker Bio:

Lyndal Macpherson is a seasoned healthcare leader with over 35 years’ experience driving strategic goal implementation, operational excellence, and team development. She has led accreditation and quality initiatives in ultrasound, shaping policies and professional standards that foster innovation, best practice, and public trust across clinical, corporate, and ‘for purpose’ sectors. 

Catherine Evans is an Associate Professor and Deputy of Head of School, Learning and Teaching, in the School of Built Environment at UNSW. Catherine leads curriculum design and development in the School and oversees the delivery of programs and courses across seven disciplines. Catherine is a registered Landscape Architect and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. 

Associate Professor Nicole Gardner, Director of Computational Design at UNSW, is a registered architect and interdisciplinary design researcher. Her work explores architecture’s digital transformation, design innovation, and technology ethics. She is the author of Scaling the Smart City: The Design and Ethics of Urban Technology (2024) and is a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre for Next-Gen Architectural Manufacturing. 

CPD Details:

This talk is offered as a formal CPD activity for architects, mapped to performance criteria PC28 in the Australian 2021 National Standard of Competencies for Architects.

A copy of the CPD questions can be accessed here. If you take notes in digital format during the video, you will be able to copy/paste your answers into the questionnaire form at the end. 

Upon completion of the video, a link to the CPD questionnaire will be unlocked. Submit your answers via that link to earn 1 formal CPD point and receive your certificate for record-keeping purposes. Note: The questionnaire link will only load if the video is viewed from this webpage. If you navigate to YouTube to view the video, you will not be able to access it.