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How machine learning might help millennials buy a house and inherit the future

It might seem like you have to be a top notch computerist™ these days to get ahead, especially with all the hype around machine learning…

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/2012/08/21/0912-COL-Millenials-wide/lead_large.jpg?1429717181
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/2012/08/21/0912-COL-Millenials-wide/lead_large.jpg?1429717181

It might seem like you have to be a top notch computerist™ these days to get ahead, especially with all the hype around machine learning and artificial intelligence. But I’d argue that all you really need to do is think outside of the box. Sure, machine learning is making people money now, but there is a revolution afoot that I think might affect things outside of the technical wizardry of Silicon Valley. And I believe every millennial might benefit. So what does this have to do with buying a house?

Millennials are not buying homes, mostly due to a shortage of affordable entry-level houses. Millennials tend to live in urban areas and need to live somewhat close to where they work (even though they’d rather live in the suburbs), so today they rent, and hope that someday they’ll be able to afford the American dream. The situation seems fraught with hopelessness and disaster, but I know how millennials might use the AI revolution to end up more well off in this new-world Housing market than you’d think.

Major technical advancement can change entire industries, or create completely new ways of making money. Jet engines let a whole generation of businesses get across the country or overseas in a day, whether to ship goods or to conduct face-to-face meetings. It might not have seemed obvious at the time that the airline industry would become what we know it is today. Think of all of the completely new markets, economies, and types of businesses that are thriving today thanks to the internet; music streaming, delivery services, cryptocurrencies, social media… its insane.

I believe we’re amidst another technological revolution with Machine Learning. I know its popular to say that, but I live and breath it every day, and I see the affect it has on the economics of doing business. But what about housing?

In the San Francisco Bay Area, traffic is an absolute nightmare. It is so bad that the demand for housing closer to where we all work is extremely high, which in turn drives the price up. If you go out far enough from the city, housing prices drop significantly. I think this is going to change because of one extremely promising technology; self-driving cars.

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http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/57d84375077dcc21008b5865-1200/uber-self-driving-car.jpg

In 2027, traffic might be gone thanks to Tesla. That house way out in a previously undesirable location is now much more desirable, as the crunch to live close to the city is gone. We can now spread out knowing that commute time to work (assuming we really need to be in an office anymore thanks to augmented reality) is no longer an inverse function of distance.

So Millennials might be buying these cheaper houses in places that today are a nightmare for commuting, but are otherwise highly desirable, and reclaiming their promised inheritance of the American dream.


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