🤖 Humans Behind the Curtain: When AI Fakes the Magic 🪄

Here’s whats in the Pool this week 🏊‍♂️

We wade into murky waters where illusion meets infrastructure. A $1.3B unicorn turns out to be more Wizard of Oz than Silicon Valley saviour — and reminds us just how far companies will go to look like AI...
Meanwhile, a sculptural tower rises from a Swiss village, printed entirely by robots — and it’s genuinely breathtaking. Add to that a cabin that assembles without machinery and lives off the grid, and you’ve got a full spectrum of what building with (real) intelligence can mean.

What surprised us most?
That the most poetic use of robotics came not from a tech giant, but a forgotten Alpine town of 11 people. That a prefab hut can reduce its footprint by 80% without giving up the fjord view. And that some startups still think you can disguise people as algorithms and no one will notice.

Important: This week we will draw the winner to go to CREtech London 2025 on July 1st! Refer a friend to subscribe to our newsletter and join us in London! :)

Let’s dive in. 🏊‍♀️ 

📉 Builder.ai Promised AI, but Turns Out It Was Just people in an Algorithm Costume

Imagine if your smart building system promised to automatically detect faults, manage leases, and send predictive maintenance alerts — but in reality, there was a team of people manually filling out spreadsheets behind the scenes. That’s essentially what happened at Builder.ai, a $1.3B unicorn once backed by Microsoft, which pitched itself as a fully AI-powered no-code app builder.

But behind the slick interface? No code, and not much AI either.

Why it’s bold:

• Fake It Till You Break It: Builder.ai built a narrative of automation so convincing that investors bought in big. But internal leaks suggest the “AI” was more of a marketing illusion than an engineering breakthrough. What looked like code written by algorithms was often just code written by people with the AI label slapped on top.

• Humans in the Loop, Silently: While the front-end spoke of automation, the backend was powered by real developers who were anything but visible. The company’s India office, where most of the actual work happened, was abruptly shut down. Employees were laid off with barely a week’s notice. Some couldn’t even access their systems the next morning.

• The Power of the Pitch: With Microsoft’s support and slick branding, Builder.ai appeared unstoppable. But hype isn’t infrastructure. The platform’s real architecture was people—coordinated, scalable, and underpaid. It wasn’t a revolution in software; it was a repackaging of labor behind the gloss of AI.

🎟️ Win a Ticket to CREtech London!

🤖🎂 Tor Alva: A Tower That Makes 3D Printing Feel Human

In the remote Swiss village of Mulegns rises Tor Alva — nearly 30 meters of digitally printed concrete, twisting like lacework into the Alpine sky. It’s the tallest 3D-printed structure ever built, and arguably one of the most poetic. Created by architect Michael Hansmeyer and ETH Zurich professor Benjamin Dillenburger, it fuses high tech with high culture: robots printing baroque-like columns, no molds needed.

• Craft Meets Code: Tor Alva isn’t just a tower, but a rethinking of how we construct. Printed layer by layer by a robotic arm, each of its 32 columns is a sculptural feat. No two are alike. And if a part fails in the future? Just print a new one. It’s practical, elegant, and strangely accessible.

• History as Hardware: Set in a nearly abandoned Swiss village, Tor Alva is more than sculpture or shelter. Built to spark cultural revival, it blends robotic precision with local memory. For five years, it will serve as both a monument and a stage, a digital relic rooted in place and purpose.

• A Village and a Vision: Mulegns is home to just 11 people. And yet, this small alpine village is now the site of a global architectural statement. Tor Alva attracts visitors, hosts performances, and generates conversations. It’s a reminder that even tiny places can give birth to big ideas. Culture doesn’t need to be static, but can be mobile, modular, and alive.

♻️ Off-Grid, Next to Nature’s Pool

Imagine waking up on the edge of a Scandinavian fjord, nestled in a cabin perched atop a natural rocky outcrop. No cars, no neighbors, just you, the wild, and the rhythm of salmon-filled waves. This isn’t just a dream, it’s now a reality, thanks to Majamaja’s latest generation of prefabricated cabins. Living off-grid sustainably doesn’t mean sacrificing comfort or design, with these cabins reducing their environmental footprint by up to 80 per cent!

What’s the breakthrough?

• Off-Grid Living, Made Simple: Designed by Littow architectes, these cabins operate entirely off-grid, using renewable energy and advanced water management systems to minimize environmental impact, while offering all the comforts of modern living.

• Assembly Without Heavy Machinery: The modular design allows the entire structure to be assembled on-site by a small team, using only simple tools. Eliminating the need for large, polluting construction equipment and reducing waste, cost and disruption.

• Designed for Nature: Nestled next to nature, the cabins are integrated into their surroundings, minimizing land disturbance and creating a seamless connection between indoor and outdoor spaces.

What we think:
These off-grid cabins prove that how you build can make a huge impact. By combining modular construction and renewable technologies, projects like this are setting a new standard for low-impact living. They are breathable and moisture-resistant, with no plastic films. The future of buildings can be both green and beautiful, even in the most remote locations.