Lisbon, March 21, 2047
Sofia, woke up to the sound of oriental music, which woke her gradually. Stretching, he peered out into the crackling bustle of the city that was barely sleeping ...
He observed for the umpteenth time the Lisbon light, yellowed at that hour, which spread over ocher roofs and undulating tiles and exclaimed aloud:
- Today I'm going to look for a bigger house! I want to change, even if it's the view! he exclaimed.
His personal assistant, Bruno from the RX-Version Gold 7 series , responded in a calm and confident tone, through the holographic projection:
- Good morning Sofia! Do you want me to help you? Can I present you with a mosaic of options?
Sofia waved with an affirmative movement and immediately, the virtual image of her assistant, dressed in oriental costume and tanned complexion, gave way to a 3D mosaic projected in the space of her small apartment. The images of multiple apartments, followed each other in a kaleidoscope of colors and animated scenarios, and which at the slightest gesture of Sofia stopped and expanded through the movements of his hands. Until Sofia, focused on a single image and exclaimed:
- How did you guess? !! - she asked in surprise - I always dreamed of living in a house overlooking the Tagus! And the decor is perfect! I want! I want! I want!
And while Sofia hopped with emotion she heard Bruno, the personal assistant, answer:
- You know perfectly well that your profile is stored in my memory and that your daily life is monitored by our global network in order to know your personal tastes, predict your consumption trends and connect them to the product that is most suits your profile.
Of course, Sofia already knew it, had given her prior approval for this constant monitoring, which recorded every minute of her life, every dialogue, every trip, every purchase, her professional career, her high and low moments, all of this steadily and invisibly throughout your life. So life was easier ...
- I know! But sometimes I almost forget. - he replied, while smiling - Can you introduce me to a virtual tour?
The lights of the apartment immediately darkened, the glass walls hid the exterior and Sofia felt surrounded by a three-dimensional projection, where the movements of her hands guided the virtual visit and the 3D images of the chosen house opened to her eyes, showing each room and each interior or exterior space.
Satisfied with what she saw, Sofia ordered Bruno to handle the procedural aspects of buying the house automatically, knowing in advance that Bruno, aware of his financial situation, had only presented him with the apartment whose price and location fit his own needs. availability and professional needs.
Bruno immediately took part in the auction in which other automatic assistants competed for the same house, placed the best offer, won and even managed to negotiate a vacation travel pack as an added bonus thanks to Sofia's consumption profile and the contracts negotiated in fraction second with several decoration and furniture companies.
It is clear that the house that Sofia had chosen was obviously empty, but the automaton's software, during the virtual visit, took care of showing the images of the divisions filled in a computerized way with the furniture and decoration available on the online market and that went to meet Sofia's personal taste.
A few days later, Sofia leaves her previous apartment - meanwhile rented by Bruno on the online tourism exchange - and happily enters her new apartment, decorated in the same way as the images Bruno had shown her.
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This scenario, which seems distant in time, brings, as in everything that results from progress, a vision that is at the same time encouraging for the consumer but worrying for the professionals of real estate mediation.
The reality is that this time is not that far from today. All over the world, research in Big Data , Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Glasses, already outlines a new reality in this sector.
The first mediation companies start to appear in which the owner submits the data of his property for sale on platforms that present them in digital form and with intelligent filters to the potential buyer, and mediation is done by telephone by sales agents. Call Center, thus minimizing the amount of commissions involved in the business. Visits to the property by the interested buyer are facilitated by employees with less training and professional skills. Objective: skip steps between the seller and the buyer and automate the real estate sale process.
If for the time being in these companies the human factor still exists, although with less added value, the desired, as in the case of Uber and other companies nicknamed Unicorns, resides in the future where digital platforms will replace human intervention.
I hope not, but the signs are there and reality tends to impose itself, regardless of our will!
I hope, however, that the announced death of some professions will give rise to new services and that new professions will emerge in the future, in order to create new opportunities for all of us.