We have all seen the videos online of robots doing incredible human-like activities, but with increased efficiency; so should we mortal humans be afraid? Jumia House – the global property portal – takes a look at the impact robots will have on real estate in the future.
Robotics is the trending topic in technology at the moment, many of the large corporations like Microsoft are trailblazing Artificial Intelligence (AI) research. The bounty for the first company to really make a dent could be worth a billion dollars. Like with every big advancement in technology, there lie proponents on both sides of the fence.
On the plus side, as Barack Obama recently signed a memorandum about, you have the mesmerizing progressions that will be made possible in healthcare technology. They are now talking about a moonshot to cure cancer; this being made possible big quantum leaps in how data and trends can be interpreted by big data.
In terms of real estate in the future the next time you access an online property portal it might be a chatbot helping you to find your perfect property. The advantages for businesses are multiple: a personalized service at a much lower cost and scale and the removal of any employment protections that need to be offered to humans. Robots don’t need holidays.
That may sound intimidating; a dystopian future for the world, but if history is anything to go by these advancements in technology will help us all. Chatbots will help improve customer service by giving humans the time to think creatively, while the robots provide the data. In the future you may search for a four bedroom home, in say Bulawayo, and a chatbot will be able to quickly retrieve the data you require, but it will be a human that talks you patiently through the options.
A time and a place for robots
In the not too distant future the role of robots will be simple input-output requests; find me a $500,000 three bed penthouse in Harare. They could even quickly calculate and compare different mortgage options for you.
While deep learning is impressive it still requires a human mind to power it, and they rely on humans to solve the complex conversation and consciousness problems. No machine has learned emotional intelligence; how to calm an irate customer or perceive a customer’s worries, or display empathy. While bots can make helpful recommendations that algorithms enable them to do; it is real interactions with dedicated experts that keep a person loyal to a brand.
An AI timeline
1950- Turing Test (A test by Alan Turing to test a machine’s intelligence).
1956- The term Artificial Intelligence is coined.
1968- 2001: A Space Odyssey– a dystopian film is released with a crazed human killing robot.
1996- IBM’s computer beats Kasparov in chess.
1984- Terminator is released, used ever since as the doomsday for AI.
2011- IBM’s Watson wins Jeopardy.
2011- Siri for iPhone is released.
2012- Driverless cars by Google hit the roads.
2016- DeepMind beats legendary Go player in a historic victory.
When robots go bad
Essentially, robots will make rudimentary tasks easier. Soon they will know the limits of their capabilities, and they will bow out with a message directing you to another member of staff. If the robot starts responding like a fascist as did Microsoft’s Tay, it might be time to pick up the phone and call the real estate agent.
About Jumia House Zimbabwe
Jumia House is the best online property marketplace that offers sellers, buyers, landlords and renters a secure and easy-to-use platform to find or list properties online. For feedback or more information visit house.jumia.co.zw or follow us on Facebook, Twitter: @JumiaHouseZW or email to service.house@jumia.co.zw or call 04 740940 or 08080181 (Econet Toll Free)
