by Blake Gibson

Technophobia, a broad fear of technology, affects roughly one in five American workers, with younger employees and those earning less than $100,000 a year being most impacted. More specifically, AI anxiety is emerging as a fear that artificial intelligence will eventually replace human jobs and hinder future employment opportunities.

Despite the daunting image of AI often portrayed by Hollywood, we're here to guide you through how AI can enhance mortgage lending. We will outline the tasks AI should and shouldn't handle and how Dark Matter Technologies has invested tens of millions to automate repetitive processes. This automation aims to allow your staff to concentrate on more complex decision-making tasks. Our team of data scientists, proficient in both mortgage origination and AI/machine learning, are dedicated to this mission.

If you’re feeling anxious about AI, this post is designed to help.

Human Error in Mortgage Origination

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, residential mortgage originators experienced an average loss of $2,100 per loan in Q4 2023. Given this market reality, leveraging AI for suitable tasks while leaving higher-level decision-making to humans can be highly beneficial. AI offers significant advantages.

AI operates continuously, at speeds and efficiencies beyond human capability, and avoids common human errors such as:

• Non-malicious Errors: Employees might make mistakes due to lack of knowledge or experience, missing anomalies in documents that cause bottlenecks in underwriting. AI excels at detecting such omissions.

• Simple Mistakes: Humans often transpose numbers or miss discrepancies like the difference between reported and actual income. AI can be trained to spot these errors and flag them for human review.

• Attention Lapses: Even experienced employees can become bored and lose focus on repetitive tasks. AI, however, can handle these tasks tirelessly and accurately, ensuring consistency across documents.

• Malicious Intent: Bias and fraud are significant concerns. AI can review large volumes of information quickly, flagging suspicious activity for human review, thus aiding in compliance and fraud prevention.

Implementing AI in document review and approval can help you maintain compliance, improve business practices, boost employee morale, and increase profitability.

AI Enhances, Not Replaces, Jobs

With over a decade of experience in AI and machine learning, Dark Matter Technologies aims to revolutionize the mortgage industry through automation. Our AIVA® suite of virtual agents, designed from the ground up, uses business rules engines and ML to streamline manual tasks, reduce processing times, and enhance loan processing efficiency. We also have two patents pending for innovations by our employees.

Our approach to AI development is comprehensive, involving scientists, technologists, and legal experts working together to improve the Empower® LOS and other innovative products like the AIVA Virtual Assistants and the Exchange℠ Service Network. This collaborative effort ensures a safe and logical path to automation, allowing your staff to focus on higher-level decision-making.

Embracing AI in Your Workflow

We see AI as a reliable support tool for human decision-makers, efficiently handling the review of loan documents and flagging issues for human attention. AI's role is not to make loan decisions but to ensure documents are accurate and ready for human review.

Historically, humans tend to fear new technologies, including AI. However, by partnering with the right technology vendors and asking the right questions, you can overcome these fears and enjoy the significant benefits AI brings to workflow efficiency and lending decision accuracy.

Forget AI anxiety. With the right knowledge and tools, you’re well-equipped for a more productive and profitable future.