Can AI Build a City?

Generative Artificial Intelligence is already used to build urban simulations, but how should this technology develop to build physical cities? To address this question, this paper takes the art and science of city making as an extreme case to identify opportunities and limits in the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence technologies for physical design. The paper is predominantly conceptual in nature proposing an exploration of the possibility to use AI for building physical cities. Subsequently, a critical review of key concepts for city making is discussed for virtual and tangible worlds. The paper concludes with a discussion and remarks addressing the main lessons learned.