Real AI: AI and driverless cars (or not), AI fast facts and top AI headlines

Real AI is a 100% human-created weekly roundup of all things AI in real estate and emerging AI innovations in other sectors likely to impact real estate.

AI and driverless cars: Is AI failing the trust test?

Cruise, the autonomous taxi firm backed by GM, is in trouble, The Hustle reports. This is despite the announcement by GM a couple of weeks ago that it is partnering with Honda to launch its robotaxi service in Japan by 2026. Cruise also plans to expand into 12 more US markets.

Real estate agents have been hopeful that driverless cars could someday handle open house tours and buyer showings. Based on various media reports, those days seem much farther in the future.

In GM's recent news release announcing the Japan expansion, the first sentence says, "We're marching toward a future with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion."

Zero crashes?

The Hustle shares these numbers and reports:

• Cruise was involved in 261 incidents from April 2022 to April 2023.
• Waymo, another autonomous taxi firm and sister company to Google, recorded 85 incidents.
• As many as a dozen Cruise cars stalled and blocked San Francisco streets during a music festival.
• Another Cruise robotaxi got stuck in wet concrete driving on Golden Gate Avenue in April.
• One Cruise collided with a fire truck on its way to an emergency.
• 20 feet: that's the distance when on Oct 2, a Cruise robotaxi dragged a pedestrian that was flung into its path by a hit-and-run driver before it was able to stop entirely.
• California now has demanded Cruise slash its fleet by 50%.
• The California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended Cruise's driverless vehicle license, grounding all of its robotaxis on Oct 24.
• On Wednesday, Cruise recalled all 950 of its cars.

This autonomous saga is likely to continue.

When AI works great, it can be astounding. When it fails, it can potentially be catastrophic.

The most significant impact overall is pushing out AI before it is completely baked, which erodes public trust. Just ask a real estate agent or broker how vital trust is.

Footnote: The Seattle World's Fair in 1962 boasted predictions that were "certain to be realities by 2001," including flying cars.

We're clearly having crucial challenges with self-driving vehicles, much less flying ones.

Maybe AI will succeed with eVTOLs (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) where it hasn't – at least yet – with autonomous cars.

At least that would cut the commute time for a buyer touring homes.

AI Five Fast Facts

1. Half of US adults are concerned about AI taking their jobs or the jobs of people they rely on.
2. More than half (53%) of women stated they would not let their kids use AI compared to just over one-fourth (26%) of men.
3. Only one in four Americans said AI will improve their lives.
4. 64% of Americans believe that there should be disclosure when AI is used in professional spaces, lower than the 78% who say that the same disclosure should be applied to AI-created political ads.
5. About two in three US adults said they are concerned that other countries will use AI to gain a competitive advantage in technological advancements over the United States.

Source: Axios

AI Headlines Take 10

1. Does your business need a chief AI officer? | ZDNET - 11/8/23
Companies are adopting a new position for overseeing the adoption and deployment of AI. Does it pay in the mid-sixes?

2. 5 Strategies to Protect Your Company's Customer Service from AI Pitfalls | Entrepreneur - 11/2/23
Understanding AI, recognizing the limits of AI tools, and calibrating your brand to harness AI to the fullest.

3. Love it or Leave it? Study Shows How People Perceive AI-created Content | Medium - 10/9/23
Human favoritism does not equal AI aversion: a must-read for content creators leveraging AI.

4. Put these 5 AI tools to work for your content marketing in 2024 | Inman - 11/1/23
Opusclip, Descript.com, Adobe Firefly, Remini, and Designrr (not a typo, yes, "rr"): recommended by self-described "AI Efficiency Coach" Phil Stringer, whose too-dark Insta photo needs AI help.

5. The ups and downs of leveraging AI in real estate | Palo Alto Online - 11/8/23
Silicon Valley Assoc. of Realtors leans into the topic, but not very deeply.

6. Business leaders share their best practices when implementing AI | Fortune - 11/8/23
AI adoption has doubled in the last five years, but companies struggle to leverage it, remaining in the baby steps phase.

7. Why self-regulation is best for artificial intelligence | The Hill - 11/8/23
Swift responsiveness, cost-effectiveness, and trust through transparency are some of the perks of regulating your own AI.

8. How to detect real estate fraud: All you need to know | Comply Advantage Blog - 11/2/23
While this is a security firm's blog post, it's an excellent recap of all kinds of fraud, ending with specifics on how AI can help detect it.

9. 'Power of AI': Use cases, security business implications | Comply Advantage Blog - 11/8/23
Security company leaders gather to discuss AI's current and future influence in the security space.

10. Neural Networks Could Soon Bring Smartphone Photos to the Next Level | ExtremeTech - 11/6/23
Glass Imaging explains how its AI tool is the next big thing in mobile photo-taking.

Quote of the week

To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.