No one can argue that 2023 has been a pivotal year for Artificial intelligence. 

After years of simmering anticipation, generative AI tools have become mainstream - and hasn’t it been a fascinating trip!

Access is not limited to the rich who can afford new technology; if you have an internet connection, ChatGPT is free.

There is no real learning curve to use the tools, so it doesn’t matter whether you have an MBA from an Ivy League or dropped out of high school - you can still use the tools.

This year, we’ve all had a front-row seat, witnessing incredible advancement after incredible advancement whether it’s in the area of generative models (like ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude) or the increasing sophistication of robotics and autonomous systems.

The best thing about generative AI for me has not just been the time and money savings; of which there have been plenty, everything from content creation, people savings, ditching expensive stock image subscriptions, website development savings, and more.

Those days of staring at that blank screen are gone. The blank screen and blinking cursor have been replaced with a prompt line and the ability to generate ideas and build on those - quickly.

So as I started the year thinking AI was going to replace me, I’m ending the year feeling like AI has opened up new opportunities that I otherwise would not have had.

It’s also given me a new lease on creativity, and I hope it does the same for you, too!

What does 2024 look like?

Again it’s hard to say, but you’ll find me posting, reacting, and testing it all on this blog next year - particularly with a lens as to how it will affect the real estate world.

Here are a few thoughts as we close out the year.

• Small businesses can now access the same tools that were once only accessible to large businesses with large IT departments. So we’re going to see a lot of experimentation and clever stuff come to light - not just in real estate but everywhere. The democratisation of AI will unleash a wave of creativity and innovation across many industries and will level the playing field further.

• Creating customised content and customer service will happen through a drag-and-drop interface; or better still won’t wait for user inputs but proactively engage with creators. Note: this will happen for your customers as well: “Samantha, have you considered this?” or “Greg, would you like me to organise your conveyancing…” this will greatly impact the way we facilitate property transactions.

• Not real estate, but look out for a growing movement on developing AI for social good, such as addressing things like climate change and health care where there have already been significant breakthroughs.

• Of course, the rapid growth of AI also raises ethical concerns and these will be more on everyone’s minds in 2024. If you haven’t been robo-called by an AI, you likely will be. (Maybe you have already and just didn’t realise it!) Likely you’ll be seeing a whole lot more of this too!

• In real estate, more industry professionals will gain awareness of what AI can do for them. At the moment, many people I speak to think ChatGPT is just an average way to create a listing description. But as AI becomes more integrated into everyone’s daily lives there will be even greater demands and expectations on service providers, including agents. A real estate agent using AI well will be way more powerful than one not using it… and will also be more powerful than agents who are not using it well. But education will be key - and the bold and the curious will win the year.

• AI will help in building a more versatile workforce, meaning if you’ve got access to the tools and know how to use them well, you can upskill in plenty of adjacent areas to your core skillset. In the real estate industry, we should probably focus on soft skills, such as language and empathy, and possibly time management to name a few. This will give those bold and curious folks among us a competitive advantage, particularly in the human aspects of the job.

And I’m sure there will be a whole lot more.

I believe that 2023 will be remembered as the year AI truly broke out and began to transform the world. I'm excited to see what the future holds for AI, and I'm confident that it will continue to shape our lives in profound ways.

For now, though, I’m off to ask ChatGPT what I should pack in my suitcase for a week away.

Tomorrow I’ll have my top prompts for 2023 for you to have a sift through over the holidays.

Thank you for having me in your inbox this year, can’t wait for the next!

Happy Hunting 🚀