Is AI the new Wild West for captives?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming engrained in ever more aspects of business and life – but its impact on insurance and society as a whole remains unclear, a discussion panel at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association has heard.
The discussion group, entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence in Insurance: Friend or Foe?’ was moderated by Cameron MacArthur, chief executive of AI Insurance, and Larry Van Horn, founder & chief executive of Preverity.
The moderators likened the current AI market as being like the Wild West, with companies deploying AI all over the place. They asked the question how much smoke is now being produced versus how much actual fire and how much true value does it produce?
The moderators pointed out that discussions about AI go back to the 1980s. However, current AI discussions are not like the past ones, which often had fears based on movies and other media.
Translation AI models were being looked at around 2017 and they became so popular, as they evolved to other things, that current AI models are all working on the same blueprint now.
However, the discussion group pointed out that there is a certain uniformity to current AI, with no exact destination identified and as a result it can be argued that AI is being unleashed onto areas that are already familiar.
Given the amount of information that AI can access, the panel agreed that it is possible that AI could take companies in the wrong direction, if it generates information that might not be particularly relevant.
On the other hand, the group discussed concerns about what happens when AI flags something up, but an organisation does not act – what if what is flagged could have been a medical treatment that was not used, and its non-use later leads to litigation?
The discussion panel speculated that the US could soon see a court case around a medical decision that was ignored an AI warning.
As a result, the panel discussion agreed that there needs to be a high-level conversation as to just where the proverbial buck can stop – the public needs to know just how many companies use AI and what they use it for. It also agreed that the full impact of AI is unclear – and might not be clarified for some time. However, attendees stressed that the insurance industry needs to watch developments carefully and not be complacent in any way about it.
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