One hand shaking another: the image of agreement.
But there’s a problem. The hands closing the deal in this month’s cover art have too many fingers, and they’re in impossible positions. The intentional uncanniness gets at the anxiety created by this year’s shifts in artificial-intelligence technology. New versions of the bots, raised on human output, can write code, tell stories, conduct analysis, give advice and draw pictures. But they are still a little foolish.
For now. In three slop-free stories about AI, we document the promise, the fear and the industry prognosis.
In residential, a few futuristic anecdotes initially spooked brokers and captured headlines, including one about a homeowner who sold property quickly and at a great price by consulting only with ChatGPT. Brokers have rationalized that kind of thing as a one-off. More threatening, at the moment, is how much confidence the bots give to clients and agents across the table, increasing broker workloads and even killing deals. Jake Indursky covers the nuance.
More threatening, at the moment, is how much confidence the bots give to clients and agents across the table.
In New York City and San Francisco, founders of growing AI start-ups are dogging office-leasing brokers with antics like air-quality tests and 36-hour sprints from tour to contract. AI also shows up in our recurring column, The Debate. This month, we ask a West Coast JLL leasing broker and a REIT analyst if the technology will damage the industry.
Humanity grows like a weed in the asphalt in Keith Larsen’s story about a night at The RED Awards. The setup for the evening can seem hokey: “the award categories as obscure as the nominees, the promotions that appear made in Windows 95 (or by AI) and the hosts’ crimson tuxedos,” he writes. But the feelings are real. Lesser-known names who toil in the equivalent of the real estate back office mingle, snap selfies and live out fantasies of winning.
It’s the June issue, which means our first of three summer Hamptons sections. This month, we bring you stories about the creative solutions for the problem of low inventory, the Los Angeles retail group taking over Water Mill and the wellness amenities that have become table stakes in East End homes.
Elsewhere, don’t miss features about how developers fill their pockets even when their investors or shareholders lose millions and what happens when branded condo partnerships go wrong.
Enjoy the issue!