Auctioneers need to be attentive to technology changes — meaning they need to pay attention to them, try them out, and see if such is good (or not) for business. This goes for any business — some technologies are good and some are not.
Countless auctioneers have tested various software and related technologies and found many to be beneficial. However, I know of many who took the plunge with selected platforms and technology coupled with little testing [embraced] and lost a lot of time and money.
We try to be optimistic when new products, software, technology, and anything otherwise are released, but I doubt there’s even one auctioneer that hasn’t experienced at least one disappointing purchase or implementation.
I asked a clearly bleeding-edge artificial intelligence platform the difference between “leading edge” and “bleeding edge” technology:
Leading edge” refers to technology that is at the forefront of innovation and is generally considered to be the most advanced and cutting-edge. It is typically associated with products that are currently in the market and have a proven track record of success. Leading-edge technology is often developed by industry leaders who invest heavily in research and development to stay ahead of the competition. On the other hand, “bleeding edge” technology refers to products or ideas that are still in the experimental or early development stages. This technology is often considered risky and unproven, with uncertain commercial viability. Bleeding-edge technology is typically developed by companies that are seeking to disrupt the market with innovative new products or services. In summary, while leading-edge technology is generally considered to be established and successful, bleeding-edge technology is still in the early stages of development and may be associated with higher risks and uncertainty.
Higher risks and uncertainty? Maybe some auctioneers are looking for higher risks and uncertainty, but I would guess the most successful are looking for low risk, high return, and a reasonable amount of certainty.
Further, I might note that this same bleeding-edge artificial intelligence platform has thoroughly fabricated dozens of queries I have posed and produced nonsensical content otherwise. In fact, I had to edit the answer above as the platform attempted to disclaim itself as unreliable.
Specifically, will artificial intelligence mature to be reliable and accurate? I think it’s quite likely but with any new technology, it might pay to be a bit skeptical until you take the so-called plunge.
It would seem ChatGPT (Chat generative pre-trained transformer) says as much?
ChatGPT has no external capabilities and cannot complete lookups. This means that it cannot access the internet, search engines, databases, or any other sources of information outside of its own model. It cannot verify facts, provide references, or perform calculations or translations. It can only generate responses based on its own internal knowledge and logic ChatGPT’s website, 02/28/23
For anyone who’s done computer coding (programming) as I have, you know the phrase “garbage in, garbage out …” and this platform is only as good as what selected humans (with or possibly without any oversight) put into its database.
Has any of my (or your) queries provided accurate and reliable information? I have had some — including some CSS code I’ve successfully used on this very platform. All good information? Not hardly. All bad information? Absolutely not.
Lastly, here’s the very-real potential problem — false information is generated such as June 1967 rather than July 1963 and then an auctioneer shares it on his or her blog or other platforms — and then search engines index it, and then it appears true to people searching independent of what ChatGPT or other AI has said subsequently.
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, CAS, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, Brandly Real Estate & Auction, and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School, and an Instructor at the National Auctioneers Association’s Designation Academy and Western College of Auctioneering. He has served as faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University and is approved by The Supreme Court of Ohio for attorney education
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