J
onathan Miller, a housing analyst and Columbia University professor, shares his perspective on AI’s role in residential real estate. He recalls his early enthusiasm for cutting‑edge tech—always downloading beta updates and buying the first iPhone on launch day. As a grandfather, his curiosity slowed, yet the fear of missing out eventually led him to AI.
Technological leaps reshape daily life, as seen with GPS replacing paper maps and the shift from analog watches to smartphone timers. AI, like indoor plumbing and wiring, is foundational rather than flashy. It’s not just chatbots or generative models; its real power lies in automating complex tasks.
**What is AI?**
NASA defines it as any artificial system that performs tasks under unpredictable conditions with minimal human oversight, learns from data, and improves performance. Such systems—whether software, hardware, or embodied agents—emulate human perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication, and action. They use techniques like machine learning to approximate cognitive tasks and act rationally toward goals.
**ChatGPT is not AI itself**
ChatGPT, a large language model (LLM), predicts the next word in a sentence. It revolutionized search by enabling natural‑language queries, delivering more precise answers than traditional link‑based searches. As AI tools become more detailed, link‑based platforms like Wikipedia may see declining traffic, threatening volunteer contributions and funding. In real estate, government‑sponsored entities (GSEs) may phase out appraisals, reducing data for automated valuation models (AVMs) like Zillow’s Zestimate. Poor AVM performance risks “data cancer,” as friend Phil Crawford warns.
**AI as the Napster of knowledge**
AI startups spend billions crawling the web to build massive knowledge bases. This raises questions about compensating content owners and sustaining motivation to share information. The current AI boom, driven by infrastructure and data centers, may be over‑valued. Deutsche Bank research suggests U.S. GDP growth relies more on tech capital expenditures than on tangible productivity gains from AI. The concentration of investment in a handful of dominant firms—the “Magnificent 7”—creates a bubble. Without AI data‑center spending, U.S. GDP barely grew in early 2025, hinting at potential rate cuts despite inflationary pressures.
**Current AI tools in real estate**
- Predictive analytics for lead generation
- Automated property valuation
- Personalized home searches
- Marketing automation
- Virtual tours
- Client engagement platforms
These tools accelerate information gathering but also risk reducing human involvement and critical thinking.
**Takeaway**
AI offers faster access to knowledge by aggregating millions of sources, yet it is not truly intelligent. Overreliance on AI can erode human problem‑solving skills and diminish the value of human judgment. Jonathan Miller’s experience underscores the need to balance enthusiasm for AI with a realistic understanding of its limits.
