More I and Less A

Everywhere you look, you see stories about it. Everyone is talking about it. The loudest talkers want to tell you it’s going to change everything.

Of course, I’m talking about AI – artificial intelligence.

A simple query on Google asking, “What is artificial intelligence?” leads to this answer…

ar·ti·fi·cial in·tel·li·gence (noun)

the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.

People seem fascinated, mesmerized, and somewhat frightened of what tools like ChatGPT and Jasper are going to do to our society moving forward. Will students need to study and learn their subjects or will computers simply write their papers for them? Would that movie, TV show, or book that you’re smitten with seem less appealing if you found out a computer wrote it? Can teachers create lesson plans with a few simple keystrokes?

We’ve been hearing about the advent of robots and artificial intelligence for years. Maybe even decades. Many of us remember watching shows like The Jetsons and wondering when we would get our flying cars. Well, we can’t commute to work through the skies yet but we can jump into meetings via Zoom and work remotely thanks to technology tools that help communicate with our customers and clients with a simple internet connection.

Before now, people never seemed to care that most major politicians don’t write their own speeches, and some of the best songs you can think of weren’t written by the performer who sang them. So why now are people seemingly angry or feeling tricked if the words were written by a robot and not a human being?

As AI becomes more prevalent in our society as a whole and specifically in our individual markets and communities, I think we need to focus more on the I (Intelligence) and less on the A (artificial).

Real estate remains a relationship business. In a world of technological advances, notifications, and interruptions, human connection remains critical and helps Realtors to be the guide along their client’s journey to homeownership or moving on to the next chapter of their lives after selling. In the three-part mantra of a “know, like, and trust” business, the trust part is the most important.

People don’t trust people who are artificial.

People don’t trust people who try to fake it.

People don’t trust people who aren’t able to do the work.

Trust is earned through competence. Being good at what you do. Knowing your “stuff.” In other words, having the intelligence to know your business through and through.

Trust is earned through confidence. Knowing what to say. Knowing how to say it. Knowing when to say the perfect words, dialogues, or answers. That takes intelligence that usually doesn’t come from a keyboard command.

Trust is earned through consistency. It’s about being competent and confident over and over and over again. As my good friend Anthony Malafronte likes to say, it’s about “Getting up, showing up, and doing the work.”

Having the intelligence to know what you need to know without thinking about it. It’s the final stage of the Conscious Competence Matrix that every person is seeking – to be Unconsciously Competent.

According to Wikipedia, this level is defined this way;

The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become “second nature” and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned.

There is no doubt that ChatGPT and all the technological advancements we are getting ready to see this year and every year in the future will bring about some really cool tools, shortcuts, and advancements. Just remember, building relationships, solving problems, and having fun shouldn’t be solely outsourced to a computer, algorithm, or robot.

Don’t let a computer replace you. Personalize your service and communication efforts this year and you’ll find a lot more things in your favor. That would seem like the intelligent thing to do.

The votes are in and good news…”The i’s have it!”