{"id":8271,"date":"2022-12-13T06:37:30","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T05:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/becoming-a-chatbot-my-life-as-a-real-estate-ais-human-backup\/"},"modified":"2022-12-13T06:37:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T05:37:30","slug":"becoming-a-chatbot-my-life-as-a-real-estate-ais-human-backup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/becoming-a-chatbot-my-life-as-a-real-estate-ais-human-backup\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming a chatbot: my life as a real estate AI\u2019s human backup"},"content":{"rendered":"

For one weird year, I was the human who stepped in to make sure a property chatbot didn\u2019t blow its cover \u2013 I was a person pretending to be a computer pretending to be a person<\/p>\n

The recruiter was a chipper woman with a master\u2019s degree in English. Previously she had worked as an independent bookseller. \u201cYour experience as an English grad student is ideal for this role,\u201d she told me. The position was at a company that made artificial intelligence for real estate. They had developed a product called Brenda, a conversational AI that could answer questions about apartment listings. Brenda had been acquired by a larger company that made software for property managers, and now thousands of properties across the country had put her to work.<\/p>\n

Brenda, the recruiter told me, was a sophisticated conversationalist, so fluent that most people who encountered her took her to be human.<\/p>\n

> Hi! This is Brenda with Parc Mosaic. What unit are you interested in?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> We have 1BR starting at $1,484. Do you want to come in for an appointment at 1PM on Tuesday, Jun 11?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> I\u2019m sorry to hear that! Will you be able to visit the property ahead of your move? If not, I will check with our agents to see if they can accommodate video tours.<\/strong><\/p>\n

> We have 1BR and 2BR starting at $1,484.<\/strong><\/p>\n

> Hi! This is Brenda with Springwoods at Lake Ridge. Which unit were you interested in?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> I\u2019m interested in the one-bed<\/strong> with the turret<\/strong><\/p>\n

> My name is Candy<\/strong><\/p>\n

> <\/strong>Is that OK for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> <\/strong>Heavens no<\/strong>. <\/strong>My fianc<\/strong>e has a murder charge and I\u2019ve been evicted once \u2026 Sorry!<\/strong><\/p>\n

> Well I am a police officer yet I do have a misdemeanour on my record for something stupid yet I still am a police officer is that OK?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> Is that OK for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> Yes, but I want to disclose that I\u2019m involved in a case against another apartment complex in the area. There is a bogus $5,000 judgment that I\u2019m seeking to have nullified on the basis of filthy, uninhabitable living conditions. I have close to 100 pictures to submit as evidence. I\u2019d be happy to show them to you tomorrow. That\u2019s the only thing you will find for a negative rental history. Don\u2019t get me wrong; I\u2019m not the complaining type; very passive. I just don\u2019t like to be lied to, tricked, and bullied.<\/strong><\/p>\n

> PS<\/strong> My car was also lit on fire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

> How old are the appliances?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> Why don\u2019t you visit the property to see if it meets your needs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> Is this unit on the ground floor? I\u2019m disabled and can\u2019t use stairs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

> Why don\u2019t you visit the property to see if it meets your needs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> Hi, My Name is Charmaine Banks. . . I\u2019m Not Looking For An Apartment, I\u2019m Actually Looking For My Biological Father Named Ernest Lockhart Shaw & I Think He May Be Living In One Of Your Residences Possibly Apartment #1421 ?? I Was Wondering Maybe You Could Help ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> My name is Brenda, I\u2019m a leasing agent at Springs at Kenosha. I\u2019m responding to a call you made to this number. What unit were you interested in?<\/strong><\/p>\n

> are you available to meet<\/strong><\/p>\n

> we can meet at my beach house<\/strong><\/p>\n

> I\u2019m interested in you Brenda I\u2019m married so we have to be discreet<\/strong><\/p>\n

Continue reading…<\/a>
\nFor one weird year, I was the human who stepped in to make sure a property chatbot didn\u2019t blow its cover \u2013 I was a person pretending to be a computer pretending to be a person
\nThe recruiter was a chipper woman with a master\u2019s degree in English. Previously she had worked as an independent bookseller. \u201cYour experience as an English grad student is ideal for this role,\u201d she told me. The position was at a company that made artificial intelligence for real estate. They had developed a product called Brenda, a conversational AI that could answer questions about apartment listings. Brenda had been acquired by a larger company that made software for property managers, and now thousands of properties across the country had put her to work.
\nBrenda, the recruiter told me, was a sophisticated conversationalist, so fluent that most people who encountered her took her to be human.
\n> Hi! This is Brenda with Parc Mosaic. What unit are you interested in?
\n> We have 1BR starting at $1,484. Do you want to come in for an appointment at 1PM on Tuesday, Jun 11?
\n> I\u2019m sorry to hear that! Will you be able to visit the property ahead of your move? If not, I will check with our agents to see if they can accommodate video tours.
\n> We have 1BR and 2BR starting at $1,484.
\n> Hi! This is Brenda with Springwoods at Lake Ridge. Which unit were you interested in?
\n> I\u2019m interested in the one-bed with the turret
\n> My name is Candy
\n> Is that OK for you?
\n> Heavens no. My fiance has a murder charge and I\u2019ve been evicted once \u2026 Sorry!
\n> Well I am a police officer yet I do have a misdemeanour on my record for something stupid yet I still am a police officer is that OK?
\n> Is that OK for you?
\n> Yes, but I want to disclose that I\u2019m involved in a case against another apartment complex in the area. There is a bogus $5,000 judgment that I\u2019m seeking to have nullified on the basis of filthy, uninhabitable living conditions. I have close to 100 pictures to submit as evidence. I\u2019d be happy to show them to you tomorrow. That\u2019s the only thing you will find for a negative rental history. Don\u2019t get me wrong; I\u2019m not the complaining type; very passive. I just don\u2019t like to be lied to, tricked, and bullied.
\n> PS My car was also lit on fire.
\n> How old are the appliances?
\n> Why don\u2019t you visit the property to see if it meets your needs?
\n> Is this unit on the ground floor? I\u2019m disabled and can\u2019t use stairs.
\n> Why don\u2019t you visit the property to see if it meets your needs?
\n> Hi, My Name is Charmaine Banks. . . I\u2019m Not Looking For An Apartment, I\u2019m Actually Looking For My Biological Father Named Ernest Lockhart Shaw & I Think He May Be Living In One Of Your Residences Possibly Apartment #1421 ?? I Was Wondering Maybe You Could Help ?
\n> My name is Brenda, I\u2019m a leasing agent at Springs at Kenosha. I\u2019m responding to a call you made to this number. What unit were you interested in?
\n> are you available to meet
\n> we can meet at my beach house
\n> I\u2019m interested in you Brenda I\u2019m married so we have to be discreet Continue reading…Technology | The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For one weird year, I was the human who stepped in to make sure a property chatbot didn\u2019t blow its cover \u2013 I was a person pretending to be a computer pretending to be a person The recruiter was a chipper woman with a master\u2019s degree in English. Previously she had worked as an independent …<\/p>\n

Becoming a chatbot: my life as a real estate AI\u2019s human backup<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":8272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8271"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}