By Kevin Hawkins with Korey Hawkins | Vol. 2 Post 27

REAL AI is a human-created weekly roundup of all things AI in real estate and emerging AI innovations in other sectors likely to impact real estate. We post a new edition every Friday, and our free newsletter is delivered every Monday.

AI convenience versus risk

Trying to keep up with the latest AI developments is like solving a Rubik’s Cube that changes colors every second. There’s also an extra layer of cutting through the hyperbole and inaccuracies reported daily.

For example, a recent blog post touted a “breakthrough” using Gemini to read Gmail emails and documents stored on your account to research, retrieve information, and summarize your inbox.

It turns out Gemini can only do this now by adding a third-party-developed extension. The author does not tell you that the extension was created by a firm you have never heard of and developed by an individual who lives in a country that offers no legal recourse for US citizens.

How does Gemini describe the risk of using its Google-approved third-party extensions?

“Yes, there are potential security issues associated with using third-party extensions for Gmail, especially those that utilize AI and have access to your emails and personal data.”

Here are some key concerns:

1. Data Access: These extensions often require access to your Gmail data, including your emails, contacts, and potentially other sensitive information. There’s a risk that this data could be misused, sold to third parties, or compromised in a data breach.
2. Security Vulnerabilities: Third-party extensions can have security vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit to gain access to your Gmail account or even your entire computer system.
3. Privacy Concerns: Even if an extension is well-intentioned, the way it collects and handles your data might not align with your privacy preferences. Your data could be used for purposes you didn’t consent to, such as targeted advertising or training AI models.
4. Lack of Control: Once you grant an extension access to your Gmail, it can be difficult to control what it does with your data. You may not have full visibility into how your data is being used or who has access to it.
5. Malicious Extensions: Some extensions are specifically designed to be malicious and can steal your data, install malware, or perform other harmful actions.

The risks of adding a third-party extension that leverages AI to explore your emails or personal documents are potentially dangerous. Every AI story that describes a “breakthrough” benefit should also be fully transparent, disclosing the potential risks.

The good news is that Google is working on offering these capabilities directly, and if you ask Gemini, it will acknowledge that it is “still under development.”

This week, Google announced Gemini Advance’s ability to upload documents for analysis – like Claude 3.5 and ChatGPT 4o can already do. This move is potentially the next step for Google to create its own Gemini Assistant for Gmail. Still, until Google does, we would recommend being very wary of choosing convenience over risk. (-Kevin)

Cool new Gemini AI party trick

Do you have a favorite real estate podcast on YouTube? Miss The Daily Show and want to know the best Jon Stewart one-liners you missed? Don’t have time to watch Kenji cook but want his recipe? Google Gemini to the rescue.

Give Gemini Advance a prompt with the link to the YouTube video you want to summarize—other information extracted, and it will deliver the goods. Be sure to give guidance on the format you want in your prompt (e.g., put it in a recipe format and create the top ten takeaways in bullet points).

We tested Gregg Robertson’s latest Industry Relations, this episode of The Daily Show, and Kenji’s extra crispy baked chicken wings video, and the results were impressive. This trick can be a huge time saver. (-Kevin)

AI Fast Facts

1. 94% of business leaders say AI is critical to success – Deloitte
2. Nearly half (46%) of workers surveyed said they started using AI at work within the last six months – Microsoft
3. Searches about AI have gone up eightfold in the past four years – Superside
4. 75% of marketers have experimented with or fully implemented AI into their workflows – Salesforce
5. 76% of creative professionals stated AI will be essential to creative processes in the next five years – Adobe

Source: Superside (-Korey)

AI Headlines

Six Agencies Finalize Rule on Safeguards for AI Real Estate Valuation Models | 7/3/24 The National Law Review
Treasury, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, NCUA, the CPFB, and FHFA finalized a rule on Quality Control Standards for AVMs.

How AI and data modeling give real estate investment professionals a new superpower | 7/2/24 Fast Company
Predictive AI systems have led to faster and better decision-making in AI investing.

News outlets are accusing Perplexity of plagiarism and unethical web scraping | 7/2/24 TechCrunch
The line between plagiarism and fair use has become murkier in the AI era.

AI and Beyond: The Emerging Technology Landscape | 6/28/24 RISMedia
As AI use advances, MLSs must evolve with it.

AI in Real Estate – Special Report (PDF) | 6/27/24 Colliers
The report highlights the untapped potential of artificial intelligence in CRE, bellwether uses that may influence AI for residential real estate. (-Korey)

AI Quote of the Week