This shouldn’t be surprising.
McMAInsion Hell
It seems that real estate agents are already using OpenAI’s controversial ChatGPT artificial intelligence software to pump out property listings so they can free up time to do what they do best: part would-be homeowners from their money.
“It saved me so much time,” Iowa-based realtor JJ Johannes told CNN of the burgeoning practice.
The agent, who also posted an explainer video to Twitter earlier this month describing how he writes listings using ChatGPT, admitted that the software is “not perfect” for writing ads but said it’s nevertheless been helpful because “writing something eloquent takes time.”
In the comments of that explainer, Johannes responded with good humor to a critic who, like many of those skeptical of the real estate industry, suggested that AI could revolutionize the art of making a crappy house seem worthwhile.
“ChatGPT will be perfect for generating real estate listing[s],” the sarcastic user wrote. “Just teach it to describe cramped shacks as ‘cozy’ and heaps of rotting lumber as ‘fixer uppers’ and you’re good to go.”
“LOL,” the realtor replied, adding that “more accurate descriptions of what properties are versus generic catch all phrases would be good!”
Still, the troll makes a good point: with ChatGPT, it will now be much easier for realtors to write misleading listings. In an industry that’s known for its predatory practices, that’s definitely not a good thing.
Broken Clocks
With that in mind, CNN did present another, significantly more positive use case for ChatGPT: helping folks deal with crappy landlords and developers who refuse to fix stuff in their homes.
Andres Asion, a Miami-based broker, told the broadcaster that when a client couldn’t open her windows and got no response from the developer in charge, he ran her qualms through ChatGPT and instructed the AI to write a letter that threatened legal action.
“All of a sudden,” Asion said, “the developer showed up at her house.”
It’s reassuring to know that someone in the corrupt real estate industry is using ChatGPT — which has veritably turned the world upside down since its debut late last year — for good, while so many others seem to be using it for anything but.
More on the ChatGPT debacle: I Work for CNET’s Parent Company. Its AI-Generated Articles Disgust Me.