We’re focusing on how agents and brokerages can all move Faster, Better, Together this July at Inman Connect San Francisco. Not got your ticket yet? Buy it here, and remember that Select members get a $100 discount. Thinking of bringing your team? There are special onsite perks and discounts when you buy those tickets together too. Just contact us to find out more.

The Human Genome Project was one of the most ambitious data undertakings in human history. Identifying and mapping every human gene down to nucleotide pairs was a worldwide, collaborative effort — and it could never have happened without ontology.

Register now

What’s ontology? It’s a way to understand reality by becoming intimately familiar with categories and their properties, and the relationships between and among those categories and properties. In other words, it’s a way of streamlining language and understanding so that everybody who uses that language and leverages that understanding is on the same page about what it all means. In gene ontology, this means controlling the vocabulary around genes, describing the specific functions of those genes — and then opening up what you’ve learned to everybody else so that there is full access to the data and knowledge you’ve assimilated.

Ontology is a powerful new way of processing data. And if gene ontology has given us a mapped human genome, imagine what ontology can do when applied to real estate data.

That’s what Tavi Truman, PhD candidate at Buffalo University and CTO and Chief Architect at RocketUrBiz, will be discussing at a special Hacker Connect session, “Living in a World Without Data Silos: Ontology vs. Machine Learning and AI” It’s taking place on Tuesday, July 17, as part of Inman Connect San Francisco (July 17 through 20 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square).

Register now

“The very nature of how we do business in the United States creates an integration problem, a power problem — ultimately, a political problem,” said Truman. The competitive basis of capitalism means that nobody wants to share data or information, and that was a barrier that genome scientists were able to overcome to the benefit of all.

“It’s an operability problem for data systems; it works against them,” he added. “You need a paradigm shift from databases to an ontological model of information systems so you can get yourself away from the problem of data integration and data inoperability.”

When scientists were willing to put aside their competition around data and information, they were able to solve the gene-mapping problem so radically that textbooks and training for biologists, doctors and chemists had to be completely rewritten and rethought.

Truman is working with RESO (Real Estate Standards Organization) on a project called ORREO (Open Residential Real Estate Ontology) that is going to apply this revolutionary model of thinking about data to real estate. He’ll explain exactly how he’s doing it and what it’s going to mean at Hacker Connect on Tuesday, July 17.

Register now

Thinking of getting your product in front of thousands of real estate professionals at Connect? We can make that happen for you. For sponsorship opportunities please reach out to sales@inman.com for more information.

Email Inman

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×