AI’s Growing Role as a ‘Digital Appraiser’ Reshapes Consumer Habits
The advent of artificial intelligence capable of analyzing product information and estimating prices from images is fundamentally altering consumer behavior, particularly within households. Information once accessible only to experts or enthusiasts is now readily available to the general public through AI.
Husband’s Deception Unraveled by AI
A recent online post on a professional community platform highlighted this shift, detailing how a husband was caught in a lie about the cost of a new keyboard. He had purchased an expensive keyboard, priced at over one million Korean won, but told his wife he acquired it cheaply from Chinese e-commerce platforms like AliExpress and Temu, spending only around 150,000 won on modifications. However, his wife, suspicious, uploaded a photo of the keyboard to a generative AI. The AI’s response, closely matching the actual price, exposed his deception.
The husband reportedly expressed frustration, stating, “My wife doesn’t know much about computers, so I’ve gotten away with it until now, but AI has brought a crisis to our married life.”
Long-Standing Household Tactic Now Challenged
For years, a common practice among married couples has been for the buyer of expensive hobby items to downplay the cost to their spouse, often presenting a significantly lower price to maintain household harmony. This tactic has been humorously depicted in overseas hobby communities with memes about fearing how a spouse might handle possessions after their death. The practice spans a range of high-cost hobbies, including fishing gear, golf clubs, cameras, gaming consoles, and PC components.
However, the rise of generative AI is making these long-held deceptions increasingly difficult to maintain. Last March, a post on a foreign cycling enthusiast Facebook group, titled “I’ve become a new victim of AI,” shared a similar story. The post included a conversation where a wife, using generative AI, inquired about the price of her husband’s expensive bicycle. She had asked the AI if the bike, which her husband claimed cost $300 (approximately 460,000 won), was indeed that price.
The AI analyzed the bicycle’s brand and components, responding, “It appears to be a high-end model costing several hundred dollars, and depending on the specifications, it could exceed $10,000 (approximately 15 million won).” The post generated mixed reactions, with some joking about “digital asset seizure” and others pointing out that the issue wasn’t being a “victim of AI” but rather being caught in a lie.
AI Extends to Second-Hand Markets and Luxury Goods Authentication
This trend is not limited to the hobbyist market. Some second-hand trading platforms are now employing AI to estimate product values. For instance, in July of last year, a platform introduced a “Find My Item’s Price” feature. This function allows users to upload photos of items they wish to sell, and the AI analyzes similar transaction data to provide an estimated selling price, assisting users with less selling experience in setting appropriate prices.
AI is also making inroads into the authentication of luxury goods. A service launched last October uses AI to authenticate luxury items based on images. Users upload photos of luxury products, and the AI analyzes the images to determine the likelihood of authenticity and provide a rationale.
Democratization of Appraisal Knowledge
The ability of AI to ascertain product value and characteristics solely from images is attributed to advancements in multimodal AI technology, which can process various forms of information concurrently, including text and images.
Kim Sang-gyun, a professor at Kyung Hee University’s AI Business MBA, explained the evolution: “While image recognition AI in the past was limited to classifying objects, for example, ‘this is a bag,’ recent multimodal AI can comprehensively analyze logos, shapes, and component structures to estimate a product’s value.”
Professor Kim added, “Previously, the appraisal of luxury goods or the price assessment of high-end hobby items relied on the accumulated knowledge of experienced enthusiasts or professional authenticators. AI is now making this accessible to everyone, leading to a kind of ‘democratization of appraisal knowledge.'”
However, he cautioned, “AI has limitations; it can only analyze the information presented in an image. This phenomenon is more accurately viewed as a preliminary filter for experts rather than a complete replacement.”
