ROSE HALL, St James — Chief executive officer of digital media firm Adtelligent, Craig Powe is encouraging realtors to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and not be daunted by the possibility of breaking undefined rules.

“I wouldn’t worry about infringing or any sort of copyrights because… there are no rules in this thing; and I have a lot of experience working with people’s data in terms of the Data Protection Act,” Powe said. “I know a lot of companies have done very ‘weird things’ and they never got in trouble.

“ And guess what, when Facebook got in trouble, the biggest company on the planet, they just paid a fine. They were making so much money already, it didn’t matter, and they changed it afterwards.

“So if we’re gonna sit here and be so worried about it that we don’t do something it will actually have a negative effect. There’s (always) another guy who’s gonna say you know what, I’m going to try and do this. So, don’t have any fear,” he added.

Powe was responding to a question raised by real estate agent, Noel Phillips who wanted to know if there would likely be any legal or copyright infringement issues that people who use AI could face as the information provided by an AI tool is an amalgamation of information that is already on the Internet.

Both men were part of a panel discussion where AI in real estate was discussed during the International Real Estate Conference held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

Responding to Realtors Association of Jamaica (RAJ) President Newton Johnson’s question about AI’s legal framework and its impact, CEO at local AI software company, Crimsontide AI Limited, Anu El said it was important for stakeholders to be included when laws are being drafted by the Government.

Chief executive officer at Crimsontide AI Limited, a Jamaican artificial intelligence software company, Anu El addressing a session Thursday at the International Real Estate Conference at Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

“It is very important that the people like ourselves sitting here are in collaborative partnerships with the State, the Government, the lawmakers, so that we can give them a bird’s eye view how to see the forest, not just the trees, in terms of their legislation that they’re going to create. Because sometimes they may create a legislation that barricades Jamaica from growth, and that wouldn’t be smart,” he stated.

“But, if a situation like that does occur, unfortunately that feature of that AI would have to be somehow tweaked [or] changed in some order or fashion from what is called the source code in order to be brought back into the market to be able to become regulated,” added EI.

He pointed to the many uses of AI in real estate such as security where the tedious job of 24-hour monitoring of cameras can be done by AI software. One hotel can have about 100 cameras in common use areas, he pointed out.

“A human being is not going to be able to sit down 24/7 and monitor all 100 cameras even if you have… multiple human beings watching it. But with computer vision [we can use] AI machine learning to understand what we are actually looking for. What instances are we looking for in an environment, whether it’s a hotel business or the business locations, we can have these algorithms monitor these cameras 24/7 and immediately give notifications to security guards. It is not going to take their jobs. That way, when they’re trained, they know how to effectively attend to new situations with a more proactive approach to predictive analytics,” explained El.

The prediction of property values and market trends have traditionally been a complex endeavour but the CEO said AI can make things easier.

“With AI-driven predictive analytics we can now provide real-time insights and accurate forecasts and assist stakeholders to make informed decisions with confidence,” stated El.

He also spoke about how AI can be used to manage a property.

“AI streamlines the process with automation and optimisation. From tackling listings and maintenance requests to analysing marketing data and managing finance, AI-powered property management systems maximise efficiency and minimise costs, of course,” stated El.

He also pointed to the role AI can play in smart home technology.

“AI-powered smart homes offer a competitive advantage for developers and investors. By embracing the smart home integration, stakeholders can attract the discerning buyers and tenants, differentiate their properties in the market and future-proof their investments against evolving customer preferences,” stated El.

After listing all the benefits, he conceded, however, that there were potential drawbacks in the use of AI.

“As we embrace these advancements, it’s essential to acknowledge the challenges and responsibilities that come with harnessing the power of AI in real estate. Data security, compliance and ethical considerations must remain at the forefront of our endeavours to ensure that AI serves as a force for good in our industry,” said El.