Meredith Orf, Realtor

AI is increasingly everywhere, and real estate is one of the countless industries that seem to have developed an obsession with encouraging dependence on AI tools for as many tasks as possible. While I grieve the impact that widespread use of AI is already having on the health of the planet and on human cognition (not to mention the growing economic bubble that may lead to a recession), I also have to accept that it is no longer possible to entirely avoid AI any more than it would be to avoid the internet itself. But I want to be proactive in choosing how and when to use AI tools, rather than getting swept up in industry hype or sucked into practices that benefit Big Tech more than myself or my clients. Here are the guardrails that I’ve come up with for the time being:

I resolve not to use AI for:
- Drafting or revising emails, text messages, notes, comments, posts, letters, or any other piece of writing that I take credit for creating (this doesn’t include the automated newsletters and postcards that my brokerage marketing team sends out on my behalf; while I wish they wouldn’t use AI for these tasks either, they probably will if they don’t already. If you get marketing emails or postcards from me and see weird errors in them, please let me know so that I can monitor how often the quality of these marketing pieces is being affected. But any errors in my direct correspondence are my own. 🙂).
- Researching and analyzing comparable sales.
- Reviewing/summarizing contracts, inspection reports, listing disclosures, and other documents.
- Creating deepfake videos or recordings of myself or anyone else (in fact, I don’t post videos as a general rule, so if you see a video that seems to be “me,” please let me know!).
- Creating chatbots or other conversational tools that supposedly answer questions the way I would.
- Answering questions about anything reality-based, like compliance, legal matters, science, or facts in general; sources should always be accountable and traceable.
- Scheduling meetings, appointments, or other commitments for me.

I’m potentially okay with using AI for:
- Some of my brokerage’s backend data analysis tools, like those determining likely sellers or homeowners with high equity. These types of tools have been around for many years and don’t use the obnoxious quantities of computing power that LLMs and generative AI do, since they stay in a specific lane (for now).
- Data entry, as long as I can verify that it was done correctly and securely (e.g. adding contact information to my database or transcribing my notes from one medium to another).
- Virtual staging and reimagining spaces (for potential remodels, furnishings, landscaping, etc if done effectively and transparently).

AI tools that I have experimented with in the past, but now resolve to avoid wherever possible because of their environmental cost, lack of accountability to the truth, and destructive impact on human brainpower and creativity:
- Image generators.
- ChatGPT and other LLMs.
- Aggregators like Google’s AI summaries.
- Deal analysis tools for real estate investments.

Let me know if you think I’ve missed anything, or if there are aspects of my work that you want to find out more about AI’s involvement in; this list is a work in progress, and human input and communication is more crucial now than ever.

And I’ll end on a positive note by listing some of the things I do want to cultivate more of in my business and my life, since I love to find others who feel the same:
- In-person events that bring people together (potlucks, meetups, discussion groups, family-friendly activities, creative projects)
- Coffee dates, sharing meals, meeting up for walks
- Connecting people who might enjoy knowing each other or supporting each other’s work
- Being thoughtful, deliberate, and intentional; doing things right
- Always trying to improve how I show up and the quality of what I do
- Learning from others, and sharing what I know when it may be useful
- Helping people to feel seen and to create a life they can believe in

Thanks for reading all this. Feel free to share your thoughts; or let me know if you want to meet up sometime and nerd out about humanity or real estate or parenting; or just get off your device and go outside now and breathe in the atmosphere of this glorious world. 🌎

This month, I took a qualifying course from TSAHC (Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation) to learn more about down payment assistance and other programs that can help folks buy a home in Austin. This is especially relevant now that the days of bidding way above asking price are behind us (for now), making it easier to buy without the piles of liquid cash that were necessary to win bidding wars for the past couple of years. TSAHC offers particularly cool benefits for first-time buyers, teachers, first responders, and others -- check out the eligibility quiz here, and let me know if you have any questions about the programs! https://www.tsahc.org/homebuyers-renters/take-the-eligibility-quiz

Meredith Orf, Realtor Send a message to learn more

I was stoked to walk with the RA crew in the Austin Pride Parade this past weekend! There's been enough rain lately that we even had a real rainbow in the sky above us before the parade started -- pretty cool. 🏳️‍🌈