By Brielle Scott
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries, commercial real estate leaders are grappling with a critical question: How can we innovate responsibly?
In a special episode about the NAIOP Inside CRE podcastNAIOP Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Shaine Anderson, CAE, facilitated a conversation with three industry leaders: Carrie Denning Jackson, director of innovation and sustainability at Jamestown; Colin Joynt, senior vice president and chief information officer at BXP; and Will O’Donnell, managing partner at Prologis Ventures. Their discussion about AI adoption in their organizations led to insights on how to balance experimentation with thoughtful oversight.
O’Donnell introduced a compelling framework borrowed from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos: the concept of “two-way door” and “one-way door” decisions. Most technological decisions, he argued, are reversible. If a pilot program fails, you can roll back, learn, and repeat. These are two-way doors. But some decisions – those involving irreversible obligations or significant risks – are one-way streets and require deeper investigation.
This mentality can allow companies to act quickly without being reckless. By treating most AI initiatives as pilot programs, organizations can test hypotheses, gather feedback, and refine their approaches without betting on the farm. The key is to avoid analysis paralysis. As O’Donnell put it, “Don’t spend three years studying whether you should use ChatGPT; create a sandbox and test it.”
Denning Jackson emphasized the importance of fostering a “safety culture” to support innovation. She estimated that her team currently has more than 20 pilot programs underway, ranging from small-scale experiments to major infrastructure investments. Clear guardrails apply to each pilot, including monthly reviews with the company’s information security and technical teams. This ensures transparency, documentation and coordination between departments.
Rather than slowing progress, these systems create clarity and trust. Everyone knows what is being tested, why it matters and how risks are managed. It is a model that encourages experimentation while protecting the organization from unintended consequences.
Joynt highlighted the evolving role of IT teams in this landscape. No longer just a support function, IT is now a strategic partner in innovation. From tagging and securing data to collaborating with legal and leasing teams, IT helps map the data journey and assess comfort levels with new technologies.
This cross-functional collaboration is essential. Decisions about data use, privacy and compliance cannot be made in silos. By engaging stakeholders early and often, companies can make informed choices that balance innovation with responsibility.
In the real estate industry, where blueprints and certainty are the norm, AI adoption requires a change in mindset. Rather than having all the answers up front, teams must learn iteratively and embrace structured exploration.
By breaking down innovation into manageable questions – starting with whether a technology solves a real business problem – companies can avoid wasting time and resources. If the answer is no, they move on. If so, scale them carefully.
AI offers enormous potential for commercial real estate, but its adoption must be guided by thoughtful risk management, cross-functional collaboration and a culture that embraces learning. By viewing innovation as a series of reversible steps, supported by clear processes and open communication, companies can unlock the power of AI while remaining rooted in responsible decision-making.
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