Technology Tech is all the rage. Some people have opinions. Some are experts.
I find that anytime a topic becomes “pop,” suddenly there are a lot of experts with proclamations and declarations.
Then I look up the word.
Often, the writer never bothered to see what the word actually means. So I looked up and “Googled” the word “word.“
“A “word” is the smallest independent unit of language that carries meaning. It is composed of one or more sounds or their written letters. In linguistics, “word meaning” is the specific semantic, cultural, and contextual interpretation a word conveys, which often changes based on how and where it is used.”
Oh no! It just got worse. Another one of those “It depends” things!
Now back to tech technology modernization.
It seems our specific semantic, cultural, and contextual interpretation of the word “technology” is not very clear. So, let’s look it up!
“Technology is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes and problem-solving. It encompasses both tangible tools (like machines and utensils) and intangible tools (like software and digital networks) designed to simplify tasks and improve the human experience.”
Please note the words: “scientific,” “practical,” and “problem-solving.” Also note technology can mean machines, software, and intangible tools. (Like models, algorithms, and procedures.)
Technology will mean something different to each user role. It means one thing to FannieMae, another to an economist, and another to a data scientist.
The word technology has been recently dominated by the hardware and software that appraisers must buy. What has been ignored is analytical technology. Even the developers of new appraisal software – the input part – have had difficulty switching from the static form to the dynamic nature of the new FannieMae report.
As a result, differing forms of “analysis” are being forced into static algorithms to “fill in” the dynamic reporting format.
What is missing, and almost fully ignored is the foundation, the basis, the requirement of what appraisers do best: observe, select, interpret, predict, and present a logical process. A logical process which may only come with a ‘team’ of the human expert brain, and the power of computation.
The power of computation is the merging of (i) data science (analysis and prediction), and (ii) the communication which takes place between computer power via visuals used in EBV (Evidence Based Valuation)©, and now (iii) Artificial Intelligence.
Appraisers get paid for data, analysis, and explanation. In the Valuemetrics.info education, we emphasize the analyst’s modeling, harnessing AI, to form reusable and understandable algorithms/models.
We measure markets, not compare comps!