Now, here’s something we don’t see every day – a commercial real estate executive in Las Vegas received a bloodied pig’s head in the mail from someone who hates how artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting the profession.
KLAS reports the recipient of this unlikely postal delivery was Blake J. Owens, CEO of Agrippa, which promotes itself as “an AI-powered, broker-free platform that strategically connects commercial real estate capital seekers with capital providers.” Owens’ visibility has increased recently with a profile in the Las Vegas Review-Journal in May and a local news channel interview in June.
The box with the pig’s head included a letter that insisted “AI is not going to replace brokers. Clearly, you don’t understand real estate was built by developer or investors.”
Owens speculated the sender of the pig’s head – who signed his letter as “M” – might be afraid of losing their job to AI. But why would this person take this unlikely protest of AI’s encroachment into the workplace? The letter warned Owens not to “get greedy because pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.”
“Perhaps this person watched too much of ‘The Godfather,’” Owens said, a reference to the classic film’s notorious scene involving a severed horse’s head. “Needless to say, I still take it very seriously, but don’t feel like I’m being truly threatened. It was a message.”
Photo: Blake J. Owens, CEO of Agrippa
And so it begins. AI is the next step in the computerization of our society and many people don’t like its invasion into their work or lives. As an appraiser I witnessed the vast computerization of appraisals, appraisal data and broker sales information. It was very dispiriting. Currently there is a huge push for AI to dominate the appraisal process. Its most frustrating for those finishing up their long careers with this “garbage in and garbage out” analysis that many times is irrelevant or only semi-relevant. This column is too short to get into the weeds esoterically on these AI changes that are not going away.
You just don’t understand, Mike. Johnny Fontaine will never get that part. You wanna know why…?
Ya’ll need to watch the movie “idiocracy”. It was released in 2006. Directed, screenplay by Mike Judge. They couldn’t get funding for the movie to begin with. Corporations were trying to block it. Kind of depicts what happens when AI, politicians, corporate grift, and the rich take over. It’s like a silly cult movie, but will leave you thinking…….
I wouldn’t mess with that guy. He looks like Superman in disguise.