The AI Book

CHAPTER 17Why Video Games Might Help You Buy Your First House

By Ben Gilburt¹

¹AI Ethics Lead, , Sopra Steria

Skyrim, an award-winning video game, reimagines the open-world fantasy epic, bringing to life a complete virtual world open for the players to explore. Hoarding was the unfortunate consequence of the 2012 update to the video game. This expansion allowed players to own a plot of land and build a home. And, as it turned out shortly after, fill it up with mountains of junk from around the game that players just couldn’t bear to get rid of. It might be a silver plate that could sell for a few hundred gold, or a cosmetic item that might look cool on their character at some point, but the hoarding got out of control for some players. There is a problem building up in our financial services industry, specifically related to mortgages, and I think these people might just have the solution. Rich new sources of data from some surprising places can be used to make first mortgages safer and easier.

The Problem

We have two opposing forces growing in our mortgage market. One relates to house prices, and the other problem is data.

• Property prices

• The ONS reports that house prices in the UK grew by between 5–10% each year between late 2013 and 2016; this compares with 0–2% average inflation in the UK over the same period and wage growth of around 2% average per year over that time. The UK is only just beginning to see the growth rates realign once more, which may be a result of ...