LJ Hooker Branch Uses AI To Create Listing With Fake Schools

LJ Hooker has issued an apology after a property listing for a rental home in New South Wales, falsely claimed the house was near two “excellent” schools that do not exist. The error was traced to the use of AI, specifically ChatGPT, to generate the advertisement, as first reported by The Guardian.

The listing, which was posted on multiple property websites including Domain and realestate.com.au, highlighted the property’s “proximity to excellent educational institutions” as a key selling point, as noted by the Guardian.

It described “Farley Primary School” and “Farley High School” as nearby options, stating that the schools offered a “nurturing environment” and a variety of extracurricular activities. However, neither school exists in the town.

The listing was removed and corrected after being flagged by Guardian Australia. Patrick Huynh, principal of the Edensor Park branch where the ad was posted, admitted that the error occurred because of “human error,” and said it was a mistake that no one had verified the details before publishing.

Huynh explained that the ad had been generated using ChatGPT, a widely used AI tool, and acknowledged the issue with the technology providing inaccurate information. The Guardian reports that real estate agencies, including LJ Hooker, increasingly rely on AI tools to speed up the production of property listings.

Huynh noted to The Guardian that most agencies now use AI, but he expressed concern that AI sometimes adds extraneous details, such as the erroneous school names in this case. He emphasized that normally, property listings mention proximity to schools in general terms, without naming specific institutions.

LJ Hooker representatives assured that they take the accuracy of their listings seriously and acted quickly to make corrections.

The incident has sparked concern from renters’ rights activist Jordan van den Berg, who criticized the unchecked use of generative AI in real estate ads, warning that AI “ can just spin out random untruths all the time,” he said to The Guardian.

“I’ve spoken to a number of real estate agents about it and they all admit to [using] it,” he added.