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Calls for Australia-wide crackdown on real estate ads that use AI to hide faults and lure in renters (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/australia@aussie.zone
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About a third of people in NSW rent their homes and the state government has estimated that about 187,000 pieces of identification information were collected from renters in the state every week, from requiring personal photos and social media account details to revealing the number of tattoos an applicant had.

If the bill passes parliament, a standard rental application form will be introduced to clarify what information can and can not be collected.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/31977851

The New South Wales tenants union has called for nationwide reforms to crack down on misleading rental advertisements after the state government introduced new laws in response to the growing use of artificial intelligence in real estate.

The legislation, announced on Sunday, will require mandatory disclosure when images in rental advertisements have been altered to conceal faults and mislead rental applicants.

The state government cited examples of real estate agents using artificially generated furniture that showed a double bed in a bedroom that was only large enough to fit a single in listings, or digitally modifying photos to obscure property damage.

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[–] 13 points 1 year ago

Just start pulling licences and imprisoning people who operate without licences.

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    [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    This feels like a law that should have been put in place like 30 years ago lol. Digital photomanipulation has been possible for a long time. Including tools like Photoshop's "content aware fill" feature that has been around for about 15 years, and could be used to conceal faults in photos with a few clicks by users with no experience.

    Oh well! Better late than never I suppose.

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    [–] 6 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    That is just fraud right? Like I'm pretty sure I could win a case here in the US if I could prove this. Surely this is already illegal in Australia?

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 1 year ago

    I don't know. An earlier article linked in this article includes this:

    An LJ Hooker branch this week admitted to using ChatGPT to write a listing for a rental in regional New South Wales, which erroneously advertised the house as being near two schools that didn’t exist.

    ...

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said businesses that used AI models to generate advertising material should ensure it is checked for any false, misleading or inaccurate information.

    “Under the Australian consumer law businesses should not engage in false or misleading conduct in the supply of goods or services, this includes in advertising properties for sale or rent,” a spokesperson for the watchdog said.

    So it may already be illegal but technically not fraud.

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