Redfin CTO says machine learning needs human help

Machine learning can automate the handling of huge troves of data to help companies make and save money. However, they’re not without pitfalls, as the real estate tech company Redfin learned.

As Redfin began building its own machine-learning capabilities, it ran into a problem: Employees weren't using them. Bridget Frey, the firm’s CTO, said in an interview that there was a key reason for that: At first, Redfin didn't leave room in these systems for the real estate agents who were supposed to use them to make modifications.

For example, a Listings Matchmaker feature generated a list of personalized recommendations for home buyers, based on their interests. In its initial iteration, agents weren’t able to add recommendations they thought would be useful.

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