Issue link: http://dsnews.uberflip.com/i/1345366
43 Journal fit the unique needs of the servicing industry are best positioned to disrupt the status quo of asset decisioning in 2021. How can AI/machine learning serve as a "crystal ball" for servicers? Servicing on its face is simple: there's an asset, and it needs to be managed. But there are a host of incremental decisions that could make consequential impacts on the ultimate outcome. Machine learning and analytics opens the door to more rapid and confident decision-making and can help make sense of an ever changing economic and mortgage industry landscape. In the past, servicers needed to base their decisions on their own historical information and best practices. Today, they can rely on machine learning to take in and process massive amounts of data from a variety of sources— like historical operational data and leading industry databases—to produce a new level of intelligence. Machine learning can streamline the evaluation process by identifying patterns that enable it to predict outcomes under various sets of circumstances; for example, how a specific property might fare at auction or in the CWCOT second-chance program, or what level and cost of repairs a particular property might require if held for a certain period of time. Leveraging technology and AI/machine learning can make a world of difference for time-strapped servicers, but it doesn't absolve them from the decision-making process altogether. While it's the closest thing we have to a "crystal ball" in servicing, machines and technology should always be a complement-to servicer's decision-making, not a replacement- for. "Machine learning and analytics opens the door to more rapid and confident decision- making and can help make sense of an ever changing economic and mortgage industry landscape." DS News is the leading publication dedicated to providing default servicing professionals with news and content focused on their industry. SUBSCRIBE TO THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS SUBSCRIBE NOW! Call 214.525.6700 or connect with us online at DSNews.com.