In 'Fault Lines and Future Paths: A Three-way View of Strata's Next Chapter' at next week's Strata Impact Conference, my co-presenters and I will answer a central question from different standpoints: is strata broken and about to fundamentally change, or will it merely pivot in a slightly new direction?
The topic, of course, necessitates a consideration of AI and a review of the literature on its impact on society in general and professional services in particular. It's hard keeping up with what's being written and to know who to read on a topic that is so comparatively new. However, a writer that has got my attention is Corey Doctorow. His new book, 'The Reverse Centaurs Guide to Life After AI' is presently at the top of my reading list. The reviews are good, but he got me with the title – something about 'life after AI' seems worth reading.
Doctorow argues that the most significant aspect of artificial intelligence is the power dynamics it creates. His argument is an interesting premise for thinking about the future of strata. Power imbalance has been a defining feature of strata since the concept was in its nascency, 60 years ago. And what's made the power imbalance possible is the role of strata managers as gatekeepers of the information flow.
For decades, only the manager had the contact list for other owners. That made changing managers hard. Only the manager had access to the books and records. That made fact checking hard. Only the manager knew how accounts were coded. That made financial control hard. But in a post AI world that's changed. The data's been leaked and machines know what to do with it to give even the most elementary AI users the answers only managers could give previously.
Read: No-Fault Divorce for Strata: The Case for Ending Lock-In Contracts
Now every time a unit changes hands and a strata inspector searches the books and records to produce a report for the purchasers, an AI intermediary hoovers the data from the software of the strata manager. That information is made available to the strata inspector for a fee and then used by the intermediary to sell other goods and services to the strata. One company now claims to have all the data for over 55,000 strata schemes and is aggressively expanding before too many others get onto this caper.
Read: Your Strata Manager Might Not Be Using AI. You Already Are.
Is it lawful? Is it ethical? Opinions vary. But it's happening at scale and it's hard to see the genie being put back in the bottle.
For consumers, it's not all bad. When data is ubiquitous, light shines on bad practices. Owners now know who to contact if they want to effect change. They know where the skeletons are buried in the books and records. They know how much the manager is charging them by adding up the different line items in the accounts paid to the managers and their related parties. They know what's unfair about the 36-page, otherwise unintelligible, strata management agreement they signed years ago without advice.
The strata owners’ 'Guide to life after AI' is being written right now. It won't surprise you to know that at next week's conference I will be arguing that we are not about to see a pivot in strata management services; it will be an entire reallocation of power. For the better.
Michael Teys has more than 30 years’ experience as a strata lawyer and academic and has owned 11 strata management agencies throughout Australia. He has a Master of Philosophy (Built Environment) and Bachelor of Laws. He lectures and writes widely about strata management issues in Australia and internationally.
