Ben James is the CEO & Founder of 3D generative AI platform Atlas.

When Ben entered the architecture profession, he was shocked at the limited role new technology played in the design process, and discovered that the lack of automation meant that creative individuals spent too much time on tasks not suited to their expertise.

He founded Atlas in 2021 to augment and focus designers‘ creativity, with an emphasis on gaming and virtual world-building.

Ben graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC and worked as a financial and strategy consultant in NYC and London prior to getting his Architecture Master’s degree from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

His work has been exhibited in notable museums and galleries such as the Architectural Association visiting school in China, the A+D Museum in LA, the Storefront for Art & Architecture in NYC, and the Architecture Biennale in Tallinn.

Leon creates both physical and digital interactive experiences that disrupt the way people routinely interact with their environments, encouraging them to reflect on how their chosen behavior within the experience relates to their actions outside of it through play. In their work, they examine decision-making and mutual interaction, which is not based on social expectations and culture, but is the result of the influence of factors such as technology, creator’s intention, or mutual creation.

Most recently their work has focused on communicating the power that lies within the position of designing widely adopted technology like web interfaces or location-based games and has been exhibited at places like Ars Electronica, IMPAKT, and V2_ Lab.