Real AI: Is AI another boys' club? Ode to Otter, headlines and an AI Quote of the Week

Real AI is a 100% human-created weekly roundup of all things AI in real estate and emerging AI innovations in other sectors likely to impact real estate.

Does AI have a gender problem?

As a long-time advocate of gender parity, an email in my inbox this week from Laura Meli with Girls Who Code asked this question as its subject line: "Is AI another boys' club?"

The email immediately notes that technological innovation and progress demand diverse perspectives, adding,

"This is especially true in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), where we fear the mistakes of the past will repeat themselves. We cannot let underrepresented groups be ignored in the rise of AI technology, and the opportunities it will present."

For those who follow this topic closely, we know that many gaps exist for women and girls pursuing careers in technology.

• The employment gap: According to the World Bank, women make up 35% of the tech workforce in the US, yet 57.5% of the overall labor force.
• The education gap: Only 16% of those who earned a Bachelor's degree in computer and information sciences are women; in engineering and engineering technology, the percentage is 21%.
• The pay gap: Men in STEM professions are paid higher annual salaries than women – a difference of about $15,000 a year.
• The C-Suite gap: Just 25% of C-level leaders are women. Moreover, none of the "Big Five" US tech firms—Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft—have a female CEO. Only 8-9% of women hold positions like CIO, CTO, or IT manager or serve as technical team leaders.
• The retention gap: 66% of women lack clear career advancement paths in their companies, and women are 1.6 times more likely to be laid off than men. Alarmingly, 57% of women in Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT) plan to leave their jobs within two years, citing poor work/life balance, according to WomenTech Network.

Are there any silver linings here?

In 1970, only 8% of the STEM workforce was women, so significant strides have been made, but the gender gap remains.

One bright spot comes in real estate, an industry where the majority of real estate agents (62%) are women. A tech study from Delta Media recently found these two silver lining nuggets:

• Female leaders recognize AI's importance more, especially in mid-sized brokerages with substantial transaction volumes. A greater percentage of female leaders (85.3%) utilize AI in their businesses than male leaders (70.4%).
• Female-led brokerages, particularly those with medium to large agent teams and high transaction volumes, are the most likely to use AI. The youngest and oldest male leaders, overseeing smaller brokerages, are less inclined to integrate AI.

More hopeful news comes from KillerStartups: The "She-conomy" is soaring, registering record growth last year. It looks like the pandemic may have helped fuel the rise of female entrepreneurs. In 2023, there was a 17% increase in new businesses owned by women versus the prior year. Women-led startups have nearly doubled in the last four years, taking it in the right direction toward gender equality.

Finally, I remain hopeful of a continued move toward gender parity, albeit, as my Texas friend says, at a pace as slow as a snail on crutches. My hope comes from anecdotal experiences, but sometimes, a powerful role model can spark generational change. The most recent example is 19-year-old University of Washington student Merrill Keating, recently named one of USA Today's 2024 Women of the Year.

Merrill is a former FIRST robotics student with our local high school team that I mentor and a technology wunderkind, becoming a UW freshman at age 15. As our local USA Today affiliated paper writes:

"She's founded and hosted Tedx events, launched a magazine, been part of a United Nations project that connects to space exploration agencies, and organized women both in her community and around the world to focus on STEM and advocate to open doors for girls who will change the world."

Having role models like Merrill makes me hopeful beyond the numbers and the statistics because she is the kind of person who can help clear the path for many, many others.

Ode to Otter.ai

Ode to Otter, a tool supreme,
Whose early years were but a dream.
In real estate's linguistic maze,
It stumbled through an acronymic haze.

Now, behold this AI's gleaming might,
In just six months, a leap to height!
Accuracy soars, it grasps our speech,
Our meetings' essence, it can now reach.

Summaries crisp, transcending the norm,
Surpassing rivals in function and form.
Otter, our gem, a partner so keen,
In the art of transcription, you reign as queen.

A game-changer, true, in our daily grind,
Interviews, calls, in you, clarity we find.
We stand in ovation, give praise where it's due,
Otter.ai, to progress, we owe much to you.

(Note: This is our first non-human created text in this newsletter, created by ChatGPT-4, noting the remarkable improvement in one of our go-to daily AI tools)

AI Fast Facts

1. Around 15% of Facebook's feed is generated by AI – HootSuite
2. 66% of US adults are concerned about privacy issues when it comes to using AI for social media initiatives – Insider Intelligence
3. More than one-third of companies surveyed said they are having difficulty adopting AI into their business practices due to limited skills – IBM
4. 44% of business owners interviewed said they would use ChatGPT to translate content to other languages – NamePepper
5. More than half (52%) of consumers surveyed indicated they are open to having AI assist them with a product, website, or feature experience – Survey Monkey

Source: Sixth City Marketing

AI Headlines – Take 5

Women Real Estate Leaders and AI | 3/14/24 - RISMedia
Women-led brokerages embrace AI integration, challenging the hierarchy of real estate leadership.

How small businesses can be mindful of legal pitfalls when integrating AI into operations | 3/15/24 - Louisville Business First
Data privacy and IP concerns, HR issues, and other AI risks for small businesses.

A ChatGPT for Music Is Here. Inside Suno, the Startup Changing Everything | 3/17/24 - Rolling Stone
Suno allows anyone to create their own songs, but will it come at the expense of music artists?

AI at Home: Five Ways AI is Enhancing Smart Living | 3/18/24 - Realtor Magazine
AI systems like Govee AI are bringing a new era of smart-home features.

Hackers can read private AI-assistant chats even though they're encrypted | 3/14/24 - Ars Technica
AI assistants are being exploited, bypassing security to acquire personal information.

AI Quote of the Week

To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.