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June 2024 » thefivestar.com 11 June 2024 M T E C H said Naren Nath, CEO of Finaya. "At the same time, we are empowering real estate agents, loan officers and other service professionals with unprecedented access to in-market customers, resources and expertise, revolutionizing the industry in the process." ZILLOW PROVIDES OPEN-SOURCE TECHNOLOGY TO PPOMOTE FAIR HOUSING Z illow is releasing its open-source Fair Housing Classifier, which establishes guardrails to promote responsible and unbiased behavior in real estate conversations powered by large language model (LLM) technology. The Fair Housing Classifier acts as a protective measure, to encourage more equitable conversations with AI technology. Many AI tools disregard fair hous- ing requirements and, when deployed, can perpetuate bias and undermine the progress achieved in advocating for fair housing. Zillow's Fair Housing Classifier focuses on mitigating the risk of illegal steering—the practice of influencing a buyer's choice of communities based upon the buyer's legally protected characteristics under federal law. "Since 2006, Zillow has used AI to bring transparency to home shoppers, powering tools like the Zestimate," said Josh Weisberg, SVP of Artificial Intelli- gence. "We've made it our business to increase transparency in real estate—open sourcing this classifier demonstrates that advancements in technology do not need to come at the expense of equity and fairness for consumers. We're offering free and easy access so that others in civil rights, tech and real estate sectors can use it, collaborate and help improve it." The Fair Housing Classifier acts as a protective measure, to encourage more equitable conversations with AI technol- ogy. It detects questions that could lead to discriminatory responses about legally protected groups in real estate experiences, such as search or chatbots. The classifier identifies instances of noncompliance in the input or the output, leaving the decision of how to intervene in the hands of system developers. "In today's rapidly evolving AI landscape, promoting safe, secure and trustworthy AI practices in housing and lending is becoming increasingly import- ant to protect consumers against algo- rithmic harms," said Michael Akinwumi, Ph.D., Chief Responsible AI Officer at the National Fair Housing Alliance. "Zillow's open-source approach sets an admirable precedent for responsible innovation. We encourage other organizations and coalition groups to actively participate, test, and enhance the model and share their findings with the public." Given the hundreds of millions of Americans searching for housing online today, it's vital that people are equipped with tools to make getting home more equitable and transparent—and less daunting. Younger generations, renters, LGBTQ+ people and people of color are more likely to say fair housing is an issue facing them and their families, according to a recent Zillow survey of 26 major U.S. metropolitan areas. Although fair housing laws—which ensure equal and nondis- criminatory access to housing—have been in place for nearly 60 years, discrimination remains a stubborn factor in housing, Zillow's latest Housing Aspirations Report showed that a survey found many respondents (57%) reported experiencing some kind of housing discrimination, with groups such as LGBTQ+ populations reporting discrimination at higher rates. However, overall, only 42% of respondents reported that fair housing impacts them or their families, highlighting how much work is needed to continue to educate peo- ple about their rights under fair housing laws. INTRODUCING The Five Star Institute's premier trade publications, DS News and MReport, have joined forces to become MortgagePoint. This new publication brings you the same exclusive news, features, interviews, and commentary you've come to expect from Five Star—now taken to the next level and all in one place. MortgagePoint is your one-stop shop for coverage of the full spectrum of mort- gage, from originations to default. Scan the QR code to sign up and learn more. THE INDUSTRY'S MOST VALUED PUBLICATIONS JOINING FORCES Magazine