Lessons Learned from trying to get Feng Shui from AI Chat Models

https://azri.us

I've spent the last month working on getting AI Chat Models to do Feng Shui from oriented camera pictures of rooms, and I've learned a lot. I explored Nova Premier, Titan Multimodal Embeddings G1, Claude 3 Haiku, Claude 3.5 Haiku, and ChatGPT.

Feng Shui offers an interesting use case because it is logical and structured, which an AI model should be good at. Incorporating images pushes the envelope of where I see AI going: wearable visual interfaces, deep structured integrations into our lives, and practical benefits to how we live.

Nova Premier was the first model that gave me results. I could open up a conversation with the model with sets of images, but its ability to reason deeply was disappointing.

Titan could be promising, except it didn't handle images, and I would have to convert photos to prose. It is worth looking into, since that's what I did anyway. I generate a context set for each image and then ask the AI to summarize.

Claude 3 and 3.5 Haiku were better than the others, except ChatGPT. They had decent performance (returned under 30s) and could generate valuable suggestions to improve a room's Feng Shui.

Here's an example of the analysis from my home office.

# Feng Shui Consultation Summary

## High-Level Room Layout Summary

The home office spaces depicted in the images generally appear well-designed and optimized for productivity and comfort. The rooms feature functional layouts, with desks positioned in central, commanding locations that allow for clear views of the space. The use of natural lighting, wood elements, and personalized decor contributes to a warm, inviting atmosphere that can be conducive to focus and creativity.

## Key Feng Shui Guidelines

1. **Natural Lighting and Airflow**: The inclusion of large windows and natural light is considered a positive Feng Shui element, as it enhances energy flow and creates a sense of openness.
2. **Wood Element Balance**: The presence of wooden furniture, bookshelves, and greenery helps to nurture the wood element, which is associated with creativity, growth, and renewal.
3. **Personalized Decor**: The addition of personal touches, such as artwork and meaningful decorations, can help to create a comfortable, individualized environment.
4. **Desk Placement and Orientation**: Ensuring the desk is positioned in a commanding, yet balanced, location can optimize the flow of energy and promote productivity.

## Warnings and Caveats

While the overall room layouts appear well-designed, it is important to consider the specific placement and orientation of all elements to ensure they are in alignment with Feng Shui principles. Additionally, certain personal spaces, such as the image depicting a cluttered dorm room, may require a more sensitive and contextual assessment to provide appropriate Feng Shui recommendations.

### END OF SUMMARY ###

ChatGPT is much ahead of all of them, and does an excellent, detailed analysis that is readily usable. My takeaway is that this is useful as a benchmark of where you can go if you are willing to put in the prompt engineering, model selection, and RAG design effort.

## High-Level Room Layout Summary
- **Entry/Mud Zone (West wall)**  
  - Exterior door opens into a tiled entry with a coat rack, shoe bench, and hooks for outerwear.  
  - Small bench and basket organize shoes and accessories at the threshold.

- **Living/Sitting Area (Center & South walls)**  
  - A dark upholstered sofa sits against the south wall, directly beneath a sliding glass door to the patio.  
  - A low side table and occasional tables flank the sofa, with a leather armchair and ottoman positioned near the east corner.

- **Fireplace Feature (East wall)**  
  - Tall brick hearth dominates the east wall, with a wood-burning stove nestled in the opening.  
  - Flanking built-in cabinets and shelves frame the fireplace.

- **Transition to Dining (North wall)**  
  - A wide open doorway on the north wall leads up a step into the adjacent dining room.  
  - The raised dining area brings wood floors and overhead pendants into view.

- **Overhead & Lighting**  
  - Vaulted ceiling with exposed wood beams and a central skylight brings vertical height and natural illumination.  
  - Windows on the south and northeast walls plus the skylight provide balanced daylight.

## Key Feng Shui Guidelines
1. **Commanding Position for Seating**  
   - Ensure sofa and armchair have a clear view of the entry door (through reflection or direct sight) to foster security and welcome.  
   - If direct line-of-sight isn’t possible, place a mirror on the north wall to “watch” the door.

2. **Element Harmony**  
   - **Wood:** Beams and wooden furniture—enhance the east sector with live plants or a small bamboo arrangement.  
   - **Fire:** Hearth and stove—reinforce the south-east (fame/reputation) with a red accent cushion or artwork.  
   - **Earth:** Brick fireplace—stabilize the center and northeast by keeping the mantel tidy and adding earthenware pottery.  
   - **Metal:** Light fixtures, frames, and the stove—use metal sculptures or frames in the west/north-west to support creativity and mentors.  
   - **Water:** Sliding door view—activate the north (career) with a shallow bowl of water or a tabletop fountain to encourage flow.

3. **Chi Flow & Clutter Clearing**  
   - Keep the path from the entry through the living zone to the dining step free of obstacles.  
   - Consolidate small side tables and baskets so energy can circulate across the carpeted area.

4. **Balancing Light & Air**  
   - Use sheer or semi-sheer window treatments on the sliding door to soften glare while allowing qi in.  
   - Position a lamp or floor light near the southwest corner (near the coat area) to brighten the transition zone.

## Warnings & Caveats
- **Clutter at the Entry:** Coats, shoes, and bags can trap stagnant energy—consider a closed-front cabinet or screen to contain clutter.  
- **Fireplace Overload:** Brick (earth) paired with metal stove can create an earth-metal clash—soften with a wooden mantel tray and a few green plants.  
- **Low Ceiling Transition:** The step up to the dining room may catch chi—add a visual marker (a runner or a low bench) on the step to ease the transition.  
- **Sofa Under Sliding Door:** Direct energy rush from outdoors can overwhelm the sofa—hang a translucent curtain to moderate incoming qi.

### END OF SUMMARY ###

The second major lesson I learned was on how important it is to build quality user interfaces to capture the data to be used by AIs.

Dynamic and functional artificial intelligence shouldn't require us to sit in front of a computer. It should simply follow us and inform us about our world.

I put together a crude capture algorithm that sometimes also captures the direction the camera points. Still, I needed a UI that let me align myself to a room, snap a photo in 8 directions, and then get some ready actions to decorate or move furniture.

The UI I wrote was tedious in gathering information, but I could see how to improve it once I started using it. The problem, though, is time. To be high-quality, it would need to interface directly with the phone hardware so that the photo and the compass always work, and it would be as simple as opening your camera.

Knowing that, however, I think it was a great lesson, and it puts me in a place where I am looking forward to more advanced user interfaces, like glasses that can take photos for you.