“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” ― Charles Dickens
These are indeed challenging times in which we live, especially given our current season of darkness, but we must have hope, even if we feel we are in the winter of despair. Every day it seems, there are new and exciting technological advancements that challenge our understanding of things, and that should offer improvements to our way of life. New IT platforms and products should provide improved efficiencies and service delivery. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one such development that is a challenging disruptor to different industries.
The number of businesses using AI has grown exponentially over the past 5 years. In the property industry AI based companies are looking to transform the real estate sector. One of the areas that AI can be used to improve the efficiencies in how community schemes are managed would be predictive maintenance, where AI can be used to estimate exactly when various preselected maintenance projects might be required at the scheme, and may even schedule the work itself using pricing obtained from with pre-selected service providers and contractors. Automation of the homes and services provided in a community scheme would be another.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a machine-driven simulation of human intelligence processes, done using computer systems and available on the internet. Like most technological innovations AI can be used for good by allowing unfettered access to information, knowledge, and research on a wide range of subject matters and topics. So, for improved community health care AI may be used to disperse information that provides health care advice, disease diagnosis and even treatment of identified diseases.
However, on the downside, AI is also being used to spread misinformation, with false or misleading information often published on a variety of platforms that appear to be genuine, but that misdirects readers from the truth. The use of AI is changing how information is created and consumed. Daily Maverick has described AI as “the single greatest threat to “Truth” in the history of humankind.”
Artificial intelligence allows machines with high level computing capability to model, and often to improve upon, the capabilities of the human mind, from the development of self-driving cars and functioning robots. There is a proliferation of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard which are used daily by people, and which have become a part of everyday life, usually without us even being aware of the source.
Examples of generative AI tools are programs that can automatically produce and compose essays and articles, and even produce scripts for movies and plays. Conversational AI is also a reality, where the entity can carry on a fluent, natural dialogue with humans in a language of their choosing, and which is able to offer advice on a multitude of topics. With ChatGPT, you can ask a question, and the model understands the format, nature, and the type of response being looked for.
But with this new reality, how does one trust the information that one is relying on, especially when using the internet? How does one know that the information on the website is correct and hasn’t been manipulated to meet a particular agenda of the owner of the website? These are the challenges that all of us face daily as we surf the internet looking for information on topics that may be of interest to us. These are challenging times indeed!!
At Whitfields we endeavour to listen, care, and deliver, through the services we provide to the community schemes we manage. We undertake to provide informed, relevant, and updated information to the scheme executives on the applicable governing legislation for their scheme, and how it impacts the scheme where they are appointed. Additionally, we will provide them with the necessary direction and advice as to how they can best manage their schemes, and in doing so we will strive to we meet our client’s expectations in terms of the service we provide.
At times we may fail, but we will always try our best to do better and to improve. We have done so for the past 30 years and look forward to doing so into the future!