Artificial intelligence is making waves across multiple industries and software developers are benefiting from it.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer technology of the future; Digital Squad, an Auckland-based digital marketing start-up, aims to revolutionise the insurance industry with its product, AI-SURE.
While robotics have dominated industry headlines for some time, AI has gone largely under the radar in the public's eye while organisations test the limits as to what cognitive computing can achieve. A number of companies are already welcoming the technology with open arms and will soon be reaping the rewards.
Improving the insurance experience
The insurance industry is in need of help. Although it remains a lucrative market, it ranks below e-commerce, auto manufacturers and financial institutions in regard to consumer trustworthiness, according to Computer World.
AI-SURE will be a disruptor in the insurance industry.
Digital Squad's Shane Chand and Anvesh Katuri are blending their knowledge of behavioural economics, AI and cryptography to create a platform that will be able to independently and automatically manage previously manual tasks, the source reported. Chand asserted that AI-SURE will be able to, "use machine learning to eventually handle the entire claims process – from triage, through fraud mitigation and down to the actual payment by wire."
While many products, like AI-SURE, are still in the testing phase, cognitive computing has the potential to be a wildly disruptive technology in the insurance industry. Between 2015 and 2016 the volume of insurance claims filed in New Zealand grew by 20 per cent, according to Rothbury, an insurance broker. Complex legalese, rising quotas and drawn-out procedures make it difficult for agents to quickly investigate fraud and award legitimate claims.
AI-SURE would leverage machine learning to identify trends and improve the speed with which the claims process is completed. The benefits are clear-cut, in that insurance companies enhance their customer-facing services and reduce spending. The IT jobs market also sees a boost in terms of software development becoming more highly regarded than ever before due to the expected proliferation of the technology.
AI making its presence known
The insurance industry isn't the sole market opening its doors to cognitive computing. While robotics and automation are quickly taking over the manufacturing sector, AI is targeting organisations in health care and finance, where the majority of the work was once thought to be irreplaceable by the technology boom, according to McKinsey & Company. Machine learning has opened the doors of possibility in occupations that previously relied heavily on human intelligence and interaction, and it's likely that international trend starts to gain traction in New Zealand soon.
Many occupations can already be replaced by artificial intelligence.
In a study that included 800 professions, the organisation found roughly 45 per cent of daily tasks could be automated with just the current technologies available. With cognitive computing platforms like AI-SURE in the pipeline, it's likely this number rises significantly.
The underlying idea is that AI can overcome the speed-based deficiencies in many of these positions, Forbes reports. Take Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance, for example, which recently introduced IBM Watson in lieu of 34 employees who were classified as redundant upon its arrival, according to The Guardian. The platform is able to simultaneously cross-check medical records and historical data on surgeries and hospital stays, all while handling a large volume of claims payouts – a figure that reached 132,000 at the company mid-way through the 2017 fiscal year.
Another large sector that's currently undergoing a transformation is the financial industry. In the past, portfolio managers held the upper hand in terms of knowledge and expertise about market cycles, prime buy-in opportunities and which equities would provide a handsome return. Now, AI can pull decades of historical data, evaluate the market using multiple strategies and take into account an investor's core values, according to Forbes. Not only can cognitive computing customise investment offerings to a client, but it can also manage the portfolio in real-time in an industry where speed is crucial to success.
Not all jobs can be replaced
The evolution of AI has constituted a balancing act for organisations that deploy it. Although some positions will become redundant, software developer jobs will become infinitely more valuable. In fact, a study by the International Data Corporation estimated that by 2018, 75 per cent of software development departments will be working with AI in at least one aspect of their occupation, if not more.
It's clear that as more companies incorporate cognitive computing – whether it be through the Internet of Things, robotics or automated processing services – and begin to rely heavily on its ability to operate smoothly, more investments will be made to ensure technicians are maintaining its high level of consistency.
The AI revolution is already underway, but expect its integration to ramp up in the coming years with products like AI-SURE finishing the testing phase. The ground is shifting under our very feet, with software developer jobs taking on a much more important role across the economy moving forward.
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