Artificial intelligence is a widely discussed topic in many industries, including how to utilize it, its advantages and disadvantages, and its potential impact on future business practices. Housing First Minnesota’s most recent Members Only event focused on this topic and what it all means for the housing industry.
Over 100 members attended the event on June 18 at Glass House in Minneapolis. This member-exclusive event series was introduced last year as a way to bring together members of the association for a night of networking, learning, and business growth.
After enjoying time to mingle and network, members heard from a panel of their peers who shared their experiences of integrating AI to maximize and streamline various parts of their businesses.
The panel discussion, moderated by Housing First Minnesota CEO James Vagle, featured Michael Anschel, president of OA Design Build; Alex Lelchuk, founder of Lelch Audio Video; and Sven Gustafson, president/CEO of Stonewood, LLC. These three came to the panel discussion with varying experiences using AI personally and professionally.
The Evolution of AI
The conversation kicked off with each panelist discussing how AI has evolved to what it is today and what it will look like over the next few years. There was a strong consensus among the three that the evolution of AI from what it looks like today will be staggering.
“I think we’ll look back and say they don’t even compare. This is on the level of the industrial revolution,” Gustafson said when asked to compare the AI of today with the ’90s internet evolution.
“I don’t think we can comprehend the impacts AI will have,” Anschel added. “With this level of advancement, the stuff that we will see in three to five years isn’t something we are thinking about being possible right now.”
Using AI to Grow Your Business
Beyond utilizing AI tools to help personally, there are programs available directed at streamlining various aspects of a business. From hiring to marketing to project management, there’s an AI tool there to help.
Lelchuk explained how his company has used a generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) in their hiring process to process resumes, select ideal candidates based on the job description, and generate interview questions specific to an individual candidate.
“In the last two years, our company has hired some 20 employees,” said Lelchuk. “Something we wouldn’t have been able to do without the help of AI.”
Other tools, like Jasper, help to formulate, write, and edit content used by your business.
“[Jasper] is really good at learning your voice… it knows your brand and your style,” Anschel explained. “Anyone on my team can use it to write some piece of content, and the nice thing is we will always have something consistent and in the same tone.”
Although these tools are having a positive impact and helping businesses grow today, Gustafson believes that we are only scratching the surface of what AI can do to help businesses.
“I think as we talk about these tools, I would equate them to Netscape and AOL,” added Gustafson. “I think they’re fun little magic things that someday we’ll look back on and say, ‘that was cute.'”
The Legal Future of AI
Despite so many AI tools being available, the legal side of it is still being explored and debated. Arguments surrounding the copyright of AI-generated images, videos, audio, and text are expected to be a source of future litigations.
Anschel explained how he needed a certain image for an advertisement and how he used an AI platform to generate what he was looking for. “The question is: is that my artwork? I think that kind of stuff is going to come up.”
Some social media sites like Instagram and Facebook are already asking users to add a disclaimer to posts that feature AI-generated content to avoid copyright infringement issues.
The Impacts of AI in the Housing Industry
The panel then discussed what all of this means for the industry. AI has the potential to streamline many aspects of the housing industry like design, project management, and real estate transactions.
“I think all of the components of what we do are going to change into simpler methods. The process of closing a mortgage seems like something that can be so easily automated,” Gustafson stated. “Every time I look at a component of our industry, I think that can be very easily simplified with an AI agent”
The other panelists echoed the same sentiment and agreed there are a variety of areas within our industry that will likely be automated or modified by AI over the next few years.
Want to be at the next Members Only event? This is a quarterly event series, keep an eye out for more information on the next installment!
Check out the events calendar to see other upcoming association events.
