Article on using AI in (HOA) business

My opinion:

The term "AI" is often misused and misunderstood. It's applied to things such as expert systems (which generally can be relied on to produce reliable results), vs. things such as ChatGPT and other generative products (that - to put it bluntly - make st*t up).

Using AI is a far cry from firing up good ol' Word or Excel. Many can use office software without hurting everyone in the vicinity. But this is not the case with AI, especially the generative stuff. We've had plenty of evidence that AI doesn't necessarily recognize misinformation and will use it freely in the output.

The article makes clear that it's talking about using AI to generate ideas for the board to evaluate. But the problem is that generative AI produces plausible-sounding garbage along side the good stuff. Boards will probably give more credence to bad ideas dressed up in professional-sounding language than they would if the same ideas came from a board member who may not express himself well (or who has a history of not knowing what he's talking about).

In other words, AI has an aura of authority (which has not yet been earned) and ol' Fred the cranky board member does not. The ideas will be judged less on their merit than on the source of those ideas. This is true now, but it's a more level playing field when only humans produce the ideas.

Regardless of the source of the ideas, I believe that offloading decision-making onto someone or something other than the board is a breach of fiduciary duty. If the board can't vet the ideas, then this is what is happening.

Will some boards jump in with both feet? You know it. And the more incompetent the board, the more likely it is they'll try to do this. I'll be grabbing the popcorn and watching for the lawsuits that result...

Exactly. AL can be useful, but because it was created by people and learns from whatever people ask it to do, there's a risk of the program also absorbing assorted biases (this has already been apparent in some programs used by law enforcement, and they end up unfairly targeting people of color or other marginalized groups).

Any tool can be used for good or bad and it starts with the person who picks it up. If they don't understand what the tool is supposed to do or read the instructions (or can't understand them), that's where problems can ensue.

This is also why I try to post links to articles like this - I think HOA management isn't just about "keeping costs down" or enforcing rules. Relationships between people ultimately make these things work (or not), so while we're all debating what this or that law or CCR says about X, I think everyone (board members and regular homeowners - and more than a few attorneys and property managers) can benefit from taking a step back and recognizing how their biases, mood, education and who knows what else, makes them what they are - and what they may consider to make themselves better people. Doesn't mean everyone will like them, but anything that encourages careful thought and promotes positive relationships while not resorting to groupthink is always good.

Is there a forum for HOA Technology folks to interact? Many technology issues come up for our HOA including security cameras & locks, license plate and QR readers, Wifi, WAN policies, etc etc.