This month, we talk about “paperless origination, processing, closing and cloud-based systems.” Every day, it seems, we get closer to Sarah Conner and the “technological singularity” seen in “The Terminator” movies. In case you don’t know about this, look it up in Wikipedia:
“The technological singularity is the hypothesis that accelerating progress in technologies will cause a runaway effect, wherein artificial intelligence will exceed human intellectual capacity and control, thus radically changing civilization in an event called "the singularity.”
From all the science fiction I have read, this does not sound good.
For further research on the topic, I downloaded the song "In the Year 2525” which was written by Evans, Richard Lee. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks commencing July 12, 1969. I was 11-years-old and remember it vividly.
The song postulates in part:
In the year 2525, if man is still alive,
If woman can survive, they may find
In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lie,
Everything you think, do and say
Is in the pill you took today
In the year 4545
You ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to chew
Nobody's gonna look at you
In the year 5555
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do
Some machine's doin' that for you
Now, I don’t know how advanced evolutionary theory was back in 1968, but simple logic would tell you that the physical body of mankind has NOT changed that much in the last three and a half millennium and probably won’t in the next 3,500 years. Did the ancient Greeks and Egyptians look any different than us now? Have we lost the appendix from lack of use in 100,000 years? No.
I think what sums up our fears about new technology and advancement the best is the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea.”
In case you were brought up on another planet, again look it up in Wikipedia, this is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a young woman whose royal identity is established by a test of her physical sensitivity.
The story tells of a prince who wants to marry a princess, but is having difficulty finding a suitable wife. Something is always wrong with those he meets, and he cannot be certain they are real princesses. One stormy night, a young woman drenched with rain seeks shelter in the prince's castle. She claims to be a princess, so the prince's mother decides to test their unexpected unwitting guest by placing a pea in the bed she is offered for the night, covered by 20 mattresses and 20 feather-beds. In the morning, the guest tells her hosts that she endured a sleepless night, kept awake by something hard in the bed; which she is certain has bruised her. The prince rejoices. Only a real princess would have the sensitivity to feel a pea through such a quantity of bedding. The two are married.
It is my opinion that technological advances are good and fear of them is unwarranted. If anything, we have evolved into the “Delicate Flower” stage of evolution. This is where we feel we are more worthy because we get upset easily. For goodness sake, if you find a pea under you mattress, just get up and get rid of it. I am sick and tired of people whining about how things are changing. If you want to eat at the grownups table and use metal forks and knifes than drink from your sippy cup, face your fears and anxieties. Will you demand the world remain the same just to accommodate you?
Yes, there is a definite shift from a refi to a purchase-based market. Yes, the upcoming TRID requirements will be a bear. Yes, there is a proliferation of social media and it will impact on your marketing. Don’t just sit there like a whining child, get off your butt and start doing something about it. “There ain’t no computer that gonna be doin’ it for you.”
Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on the commercial real estate side until 1991, when he fell in love with residential lending. In 1995, he started a small mortgage company in his basement called Carteret Mortgage Corporation, which in 2003, grew to one of the largest mortgage broker companies in the United States. These days, Eric is semi-retired, doing mortgages by referral only. As he likes to put it, “He is either saving people money per month or helping them buy a new home. What a great job!” He may be reached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or e-mail [email protected].
This article originally appeared in the May 2015 print edition of National Mortgage Professional Magazine.
