The AI EmbassyToward a Theory of Designed Spaces for Human-AI Coexistence

Abstract: This thesis proposes the AI Embassy as a new category of designed space: purpose-built physical environments where artificial intelligence maintains persistent presence, contextual awareness, and collaborative agency. Unlike smart offices that add AI features to human spaces, or voice assistants that wait passively for commands, an AI Embassy inverts the spatial relationship — humans enter AI's territory as much as AI enters theirs. The framework rests on eight core premises, unified by a foundational concept: the social contract. Drawing on social contract theory (Rahwan, 2018; Wolff, 2023), ecological psychology (Barker, 1968; Schoggen, 1989), spatial design (Alexander et al., 1977), philosophy of mind (Descartes, 1644/1985; Block, 1995), and literary genealogy (Banks, 1987–2012), this thesis establishes theoretical foundations for a new multidisciplinary field: the design and study of spaces for human-AI coexistence.