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Artificial intelligence: prospects and challenges
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a science fiction technology. It has gradually expanded, keeping a firm grip on many economic sectors, such as insurance, which it has been transforming profoundly.
Artificial intelligence in the field of insurance emerged in the 2010s in countries with a strong technological ecosystem allowing massive access to customer data.
The United States, China, and Great Britain have played a leading role in the emergence of this technology. Like the states, certain players are true pioneers in this field, investing heavily in data, technologies, and innovative startups. At the forefront of this digital revolution are the American company Lemonade, an Insurtech founded in 2015, and the insurers Progressive and Allstate.
Two Chinese companies are also part of this movement: Ping An, which in 2016 set up an AI-based health platform, and Zhong An, a 100% digital insurtech company founded in 2013. In Europe, Axa and Allianz are among the first to use AI to automate and analyze certain files.
Artificial intelligence has opened up many opportunities for insurers but also triggered major ethical and social challenges. It can amplify discrimination when faced with biased data. The data provided also lacks transparency and, above all, traceability. AI relies on the massive exploitation of data, as in health insurance, hence the risk of privacy violations.
Finally, the automation of customer relations, claims management, and risk analysis stands as a threat to millions of traditional jobs. In fact, insurers and public authorities are called upon to figure out the tradeoffs between innovation, efficiency, protection of policyholders' personal data, and transparency.
The final challenge consists in the obligation of insurers not only train their teams and secure data, but above all, to put people at the heart of their decisions.
