By the Founder of Jamaica Homes
Images used to cost real money. Writing assistants too. Today, I generate most visuals myself, dictate my thoughts by voice, and use AI to tighten grammar and improve clarity. That shift alone tells you something important: artificial intelligence has arrived, and it is already reshaping how we work.
But let me be clear from the outset. AI is a support tool, not a decision-maker.
It can help us communicate better. Used carelessly, it can quietly erode professional confidence, blur accountability, and expose agents to serious risk. Tools may change. Responsibility does not.
That distinction matters more in Jamaican real estate than almost anywhere else.
Why this conversation matters in Jamaica
Real estate law in Jamaica is local, technical, and unforgiving. Titles, easements, access rights, zoning, development potential, and infrastructure are not abstract ideas—they are specific, fact-based, and often misunderstood. AI systems are very good at generating information that sounds plausible. They are far less reliable when it comes to Jamaican property realities.
I have personally experienced this. An AI tool once gave me a confident answer about a property law issue that was completely wrong. Confidently wrong. My stomach cramped immediately, because I knew what that could mean if repeated to a client.
A realtor or broker who relies on AI without verification could easily find themselves at the wrong end of a lawsuit.
This is not theoretical risk. It is real.
Why I’m well placed to speak on this
I am the founder of Jamaica Homes, but my relationship with technology predates AI hype by decades.
I have been using computers since the age of 12—from the Sinclair Spectrum and Commodore systems, through PCs, and later Macs. I wrote code early, explored ethical hacking before it had a name, worked extensively with Photoshop in the 1990s, and taught technology long before it became fashionable.
My career has moved across design, architecture, project coordination, building surveying, and project management—culminating in strategic programme delivery roles connected to Cranfield University, the UK Defence Academy, and the delivery of security programmes for the UK House of Commons.
Today, I work at the intersection of property, local market knowledge, and professional standards. That intersection is exactly where AI creates both opportunity and danger.
How AI is already used in real estate
AI is not new to this industry. We have been automating parts of real estate work for years.
- Property descriptions have been drafted digitally since the early 2000s
- Photoshop was the gold standard for image enhancement for decades
- Email drafting and marketing copy have long been assisted by software
What’s different now is scale and accessibility.
Today, AI tools can:
- Enhance images and lighting
- Declutter rooms digitally
- Generate lifestyle visuals (nightlife, views, ambience)
- Draft listings, emails, and marketing text in seconds
- Produce virtual tours and avatars
- Clone voices and generate video
None of these are inherently bad. The danger lies in crossing the line from presentation into misrepresentation.
Staging vs deception
Staging has always been part of real estate. Cleaning, decluttering, improving lighting—these prepare a property.
Digital alteration is different.
If an AI-enhanced image materially changes the appearance of a property—adds views, removes neighbouring structures, alters land contours, or suggests infrastructure that does not exist—it creates a property that never existed.
That is not marketing. That is misrepresentation.
In Jamaica, this risk is amplified because many buyers—especially in the diaspora—rely heavily on agents’ representations before viewing. An attractive but misleading image can travel halfway around the world long before the truth catches up.
AI and property law: the danger zone
AI tools will increasingly be used to summarise laws, generate explanations, and answer questions. This is where caution is essential.
Real estate professionals are not legal advisers.
AI can blur that boundary very easily.
Claims about:
- Access rights
- Road status
- Utilities
- Zoning
- Development potential
often sound reasonable, even authoritative, while being completely wrong in a Jamaican context.
Protection requires discipline:
- Disclaimers on AI-assisted material
- Verification against primary sources
- Clear separation between marketing and legal advice
Ironically, despite all the talk of digital disruption, an AI system still cannot penetrate a paper-based land registry file locked in a government office. That irony should not be lost on us.
Virtual tours, AI consultants, and the future agent
Tools like AI-powered virtual property consultants will become normal. New staff will increasingly be trained with AI assistance. Traditional trainers may one day be supplemented—or replaced—by digital systems.
This does not mean agents disappear.
It means the role evolves.
The future professional will not simply “do tasks.” They will design processes, orchestrate tools, verify outputs, and carry responsibility. Human judgment becomes more valuable, not less.
The global AI race—and why Jamaica must be careful
Globally, there is a race toward artificial general intelligence—systems that learn, adapt, and improve themselves. Some predict this within this decade.
The problem is not intelligence.
The problem is alignment.
AI can generate information that sounds accurate, professional, and persuasive—while being incomplete or wrong. In a sector as sensitive as land ownership, the cost of error is enormous.
Jamaica must protect its systems, its buyers, and its professionals—not by resisting technology, but by governing its use intelligently.
Digital land registries and blockchain
Blockchain-based land registries are often presented as a silver bullet. In theory, they offer tamper-proof records, transparency, and faster transfers through smart contracts.
In practice, they raise serious questions:
- Who verifies the data before it enters the system?
- How are historical errors handled?
- What happens when technology moves faster than law?
Digitisation can improve trust—but only if governance keeps pace.
Advice to agents experimenting with AI
Use AI to assist your work, not replace your judgment.
Ask yourself:
- Would I stand behind this statement in court?
- Have I verified this locally?
- Am I presenting reality, or a polished fiction?
Accuracy and accountability must remain non-negotiable.
A final word
Technology will continue to accelerate. Consumer AI, avatars, automation, and digital assistants will become normal by 2026 and beyond. Efficiency will increase. Costs will fall. Expectations will rise.
But one thing will not change.
Technology can assist the work, but it can’t carry the responsibility.
Buyers and sellers should ask questions, expect accuracy, and remember that polished presentation is not the same as truth.
As for me? I am optimistic about efficiency—and cautious about shortcuts. That balance is where Jamaican real estate must live if it wants to embrace the future without losing its integrity.
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