Artificial intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence in machines programmed to think and learn like humans. These machines can be designed to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as recognizing speech, images, and videos, understanding natural language, making decisions, and playing games.
There are several types of AI:
Rule-based AI uses a set of pre-determined rules to make decisions and complete tasks. Machine learning involves training a computer using large amounts of data and allowing it to learn and improve its performance over time. Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a subfield of AI focusing on the interaction between computers and human language.
Computer vision is the ability of computers to interpret and understand visual information from the world, such as images and videos. AI is being used in many applications, from self-driving cars to voice assistants to smart home devices, and it is expected to play an increasingly important role in many industries in the future.
But let’s focus on the ones related to the real estate industry…
Artificial intelligence can enhance many current processes, from the most historical and essential land use via architectural building design and construction to the most advanced and developed Smart cities.
Could we ever imagine that artificial intelligence could help us with our crops and livestock? Some examples illustrate the multitude of possible improvements. When understanding the added value of this wide variety of examples to the agricultural industry, it won’t be difficult to imagine similar benefits for the real estate industry.
Today, AI can monitor crops in real-time and predict crop growth and yields. This can help farmers to optimize crop management and increase crop productivity.
Precision agriculture: AI can analyze data from sensors, drones, and other sources to create detailed maps of crop health, soil moisture, and other factors, enabling farmers to optimize irrigation, fertilization, and planting.
Monitor the health and behavior of livestock, predict when they are likely to be sick, and optimize the feeding and care of the animals. In addition, AI can analyze historical weather data and predict future weather patterns, helping farmers plan for potential weather-related challenges.
After a soil sample analysis, it can make recommendations about the types of crops that can be grown on a particular piece of land and how to optimize soil fertility. AI can also automate various agriculture tasks, such as planting, harvesting, and monitoring, which can increase efficiency and reduce labor costs.
Supply chain management optimization within the logistics of transporting agricultural products from the farm to the consumer, reducing waste and improving the efficiency of the supply chain. AI makes land management easy by monitoring land usage, predicting land degradation and erosion, and helping to plan for sustainable land use.
Overall, AI can improve the efficiency, productivity, and sustainability of the land and agriculture industry, by providing farmers and land managers with valuable insights and recommendations based on data analysis.
Regarding land title registry, AI could change how we see this aspect of real estate. AI can automate the process of document processing and verification, such as identity verification, mortgage applications, and legal papers, making the process faster and more efficient; however, AI alone cannot do it all. A high data input quality is needed to get helpful data output. The value of AI can then be further enhanced with other data technologies, like blockchain and smart contracts.
Another much-needed use would be fraud detection, as AI can detect fraudulent activities, such as fake property listings, double-spending, and ownership disputes, thus providing extra security to property transactions.
And similar to the agricultural examples above, if the data-input quality is excellent and reliable enough, AI can automatize the process of creating and executing smart contracts on the blockchain, which can reduce the need for expensive intermediaries, such as lawyers and real estate agents, at certain parts in the process where machines are more efficient, concentrate them on the spots where their value add is needed and make the process faster and more efficient.
Pattern recognition and predictive analytics about the future of the market made by AI can help the government and organizations make better decisions by analyzing large amounts of land title data. In addition, AI can digitize the land registry, making it more accessible and user-friendly. It can also automate the process of updating the records and finally deploy the Digital Land Registry.
Although the benefits of AI are endless in land registries, there are also limitations.
In many jurisdictions, legislation prescribes that “the signing of the sale by parties should take place before an authorized notary public.” And perhaps that is a good thing because AI should support and enhance processes supporting humans. But, on the other hand, it may become scary to imagine when machines will ultimately replace the human factor.
By analyzing large amounts of land title data, such as property prices, sales history, and location data, to accurately estimate the value of a property, AI can be used in the process of valuing properties and make it automated, more transparent, and efficient.
AI can also monitor and ensure compliance with regulations and laws related to land title transactions, providing tamper-proof records of the transactions and avoiding fraud. Artificial intelligence can be used to help with predictions and plans for infrastructure development in a specific environment. For example, to optimize the architectural design, generating thousands of possible designs within the given boundaries and calculating various aspects so that the architects and planners can make better-informed decisions.
Through Site Analysis before building any infrastructure, AI can analyze data from various sources, such as satellite imagery, topography, pollution, and historical land use data, to identify the most suitable locations for infrastructure development. In addition, AI can be used to analyze and simulate the potential environmental impacts of infrastructure development, such as changes in land use, water resources, noise, and air quality, and to make recommendations for minimizing adverse effects.
AI can optimize the design and construction of infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges, and buildings, by analyzing traffic patterns, soil conditions, space usage, the incidence of light, and other factors, to reduce costs and improve performance. In addition, climate change adaptation reports can be provided by AI when simulating and predicting the effects of climate change on the infrastructure and developing plans for adapting to the changing conditions.
Regarding other aspects of the real estate industry involving other players, like real estate and investment companies, individuals, like owners and investors, in other words, the private sector of real estate, AI could radically improve the way things work right now. Proptech could be significantly enhanced by artificial intelligence; however, the sector needs to understand the benefits of high data quality, and many players still need to improve on this. In other words: there is enormous potential!
Predictive analytics can be applied to the private sector. For example, AI can analyze large amounts of real estate data, such as property prices, sales history, and location data, to make market predictions. This can help real estate companies and individuals make better investment decisions.
Smart search and recommendations: AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots can provide personalized search and recommendations to real estate buyers, such as matching properties to the buyers’ preferences and budgets. Automated property management, AI could automate entirely property management tasks, such as scheduling property inspections, handling tenant requests, and monitoring energy consumption.
Fraud Detection: AI can detect fraudulent activities, such as fake property listings and ownership disputes, thus providing extra security to property transactions. It can significantly help KYC and CDD processes, researching the background of tenants or potential buyers.
Virtual and Augmented Reality, and even Mixed Reality, could be deployed by AI to create virtual tours and augmented reality experiences to help buyers visualize properties, which can be especially useful for remote buyers. AI is used in Smart Buildings to create smart buildings that automatically adjust lighting, temperature, and security settings based on the occupants’ preferences and usage patterns.
And from smart buildings, we arrive at the topic of Smart Cities. Artificial Intelligence is the brain, IoT is the circulatory system, installed hardware are the organs, and blockchain and smart contracts are like the hormones that make everything work, like Swiss watches…
Smart City Planning AI analyzes data from smart city infrastructure, such as traffic patterns, energy consumption, and waste management, to make predictions about future needs and to plan for sustainable urban development.
In Smart Cities, AI can analyze real-time traffic data and predict traffic patterns. This can help to optimize traffic flow and reduce congestion. There is already a growing number of AI-based parking apps facilitating more dynamic usage of static parking lots, creating benefits for landlords, municipalities, and traffic densities, and not the least, for people searching instantly or upon reservation for the closets parking nearby their destination.
For public transportation: AI can optimize the scheduling and routing of public transportation vehicles, reducing wait times and improving the transportation system’s efficiency. In addition, AI can monitor and control energy consumption and air quality in buildings, homes, and smart infrastructure, optimize energy usage and reduce waste. This way, energy could be managed much more efficiently.
Predictive maintenance can be reported by AI whenever maintenance is needed on smart city infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and public buildings, reducing the need for costly repairs and improving the safety of the infrastructure. AI can also help optimize the maintenance work by informing the engineer about the checks and tasks to carry out and scheduling the most optimal route for the engineer, environmental monitoring and smart waste management: AI can be used to monitor and analyze environmental data such as air and water quality, and to predict and prevent environmental hazards such as pollution and extreme weather events. It can also optimize the collection and disposal of waste, reducing waste and improving the efficiency of the waste management system.
AI can improve the decision-making process in the city administration by providing insights and recommendations based on the data from the smart city infrastructure and, in this way, creates smart governance. Furthermore, public safety is one of the most urgent matters; AI can analyze data from surveillance cameras, social media, and other sources to detect and prevent crime and other public safety threats.
What we know today is that in a blockchain-based AI system, the decentralized nature of the blockchain network can be used to optimize the operation of a building by continuously anticipating the activities and behavior of people using the buildings. Furthermore, it creates a tamper-proof and transparent environment for the training and execution of AI models. This can enable the secure sharing of data and models between organizations while also providing a way to verify the integrity of the AI models being used.
Additionally, smart contracts on blockchain can be used to execute complex AI models in a decentralized and trustworthy manner. This can enable a new class of decentralized AI applications that can be executed without needing a centralized intermediary.
Moreover, AI can be used to improve the security and scalability of the blockchain network. Blockchain often contains only the hashes as a digital fingerprint, pointing to external sources where the information can be found. AI-based techniques can be used to detect and prevent malicious activities, such as fraud and hacking, causing a breach between the data and their hashes in the blockchain and also by optimizing the consensus algorithms and reducing the computational burden.
Overall, AI can help to improve transparency, security, and efficiency by providing valuable insights and recommendations based on data analysis and automating the process of creating and executing smart contracts, which can help to reduce the need for intermediaries and make everything faster and more efficient. Furthermore, integrating AI and blockchain can enable new possibilities for creating secure and decentralized AI applications.
On the other hand, many cities worldwide are going through a transformation. They are equipped with cutting-edge technology to become “Smart Cities.” How will this change the lives of the people living in them? Well, some things will cease to exist, and we will be able to answer many of the problems the world faces today. But other things are also in scope.
Are we smart enough to keep and preserve what is good for us? And our young generations have the same ideas about what is or isn’t good or important to them?
The impact of the digital era will be intense; remember, it has only just begun, and it will undoubtedly influence the mindset of all cultures in the following decades. Going green is the only way humanity can survive in the coming centuries. Decisions are being made worldwide, and countries are changing their rules and regulations to make it happen. It also may alter how we build, for example, applying the principles of passive or low-tech designs and creating comfortable buildings with the lowest need for mechanical interaction and energy consumption. To reach this lowest need – you guessed it – AI will be needed to anticipate the usage of the building and the continuously changing weather conditions outside to steer the installations.
Implementing new technologies could accelerate this process tremendously, and it is frustrating to watch regulators delay decisions for years. In the process of becoming green, we will need much help, and AI, IoT, Blockchain, and Smart Contracts could make a significant impact in this journey, so why not give them a chance? But is this happening fast enough? Are WE acting fast enough? Are WE expecting AI to do it all for us?
It’s my understanding that questions are not supposed to be the conclusion of an article, and I’m hoping I will be able to answer them in the future, as right now, we will just have to see how AI technology develops in the coming years and how it affects our way of living.