CLAUDE X PROJECT DESTINED
Over the past several months, while preparing for my transition into UCLA, I have been involved with Project Destined through both their commercial real estate program and private equity internship. But one experience stood out from the rest: the Claude x Project Destined AI program.
Not because it taught me that artificial intelligence is important. Most people already know that.
What changed for me was how I think about it.
Before participating in the program, my experience with AI was relatively practical. Like many people, I used tools such as ChatGPT for research, brainstorming, writing, and everyday tasks. I understood that AI was becoming increasingly powerful, but I largely viewed it as a tool sitting on the surface of my workflow.
The program challenged me to think beyond that.
One of the most valuable parts was exploring the broader evolution of AI, from its early foundations to deep learning, transformers, large language models, multimodal systems, and the emergence of AI agents. Seeing that progression laid out clearly shifted my perspective. For the first time, I found myself thinking less about what AI can do today and more about where we are positioned on the curve.
What became increasingly clear is that we are entering a period where AI moves beyond assisting individual tasks and begins managing entire workflows. The conversation is no longer simply about generating text or answering questions. It is increasingly about systems capable of researching, organizing, analyzing, and executing with minimal supervision.
For someone entering business and real estate at the same time this transition is unfolding, that realization felt significant.
The hands-on prompting exercises were equally eye-opening. Throughout the program, we worked across multiple models, including Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini, testing prompts, comparing outputs, and exploring why certain approaches consistently produced stronger results than others.
What surprised me most was how much the outcome depended on the person using the tool.
We discussed concepts such as tokens, context windows, multimodal inputs, model limitations, and the economics behind these systems. While the technical details were fascinating, the larger lesson was much simpler: there is a substantial difference between using AI and understanding how to direct it effectively.
The quality of an output often reflected the quality of the thinking behind it.
That idea stayed with me.
The practical applications we explored were not theoretical. AI agents handling repetitive workflows. Copilot embedded into financial modeling and reporting. Market research synthesized in minutes rather than hours. Data visualization becoming faster and more accessible.
For industries built around information, analysis, and decision-making, the implications are difficult to ignore.
At the same time, some of the most valuable conversations centered around the limitations of these systems. Hallucinations. Missing context. Poor judgment. The inability to genuinely understand people, relationships, or human nuance.
That distinction matters, especially in luxury real estate.
The longer I spend around this industry, the more convinced I become that the true value of luxury real estate has never been information. Information becomes increasingly accessible every year. What remains scarce are trust, discretion, emotional intelligence, judgment, and the ability to understand what someone wants before they fully know how to articulate it themselves.
Technology may transform how we work, but it does not replace why people seek trusted advisors in the first place.
One unexpected outcome of the program was that it pushed me to explore the intersection of AI and real estate more seriously. What began as curiosity evolved into action, ultimately leading me to apply for CBRE's AI Fellowship Program. Regardless of the outcome, the application itself reflected something I had not anticipated at the start of the year: a growing interest in understanding not only how the industry is changing, but how emerging technologies may shape the way professionals operate within it.
Leaving the program, I did not walk away thinking about AI as a trend.
I walked away thinking about adaptation.
The professionals who thrive over the next decade will not necessarily be the most technical, nor will they be the ones who resist change. They will likely be the people who understand where technology creates efficiency, where human judgment remains irreplaceable, and how to operate effectively between the two.