Tommy Barker: Online bidding for a home in Ireland now feels like a gamble

AI's digital revolution is making home-hunting more stressful than ever, as online bidding platforms and rapid changes impact buyers' mental health.

Even if there was a home in the wings for everyone in need, the actual buying process remains an unnecessary tangle of hurdles, delays, and challenges, not least of which is stress.

Artifical intelligence and the digital revolution impacts every facet of societal and personal life, from work patterns to social engagements, dating, dining, distractions, diversions — and home-hunting.

Onlining and with an app for just about everything, with addiction-adjacent algorithms whirring in the background, the speed with which it’s embedded in our psyches is dizzying: little wonder that just as physical chores can be eased or even eliminated, impacts on mental health and soaring stress levels are only starting to be assessed.