29 April 2019 Lloyd’s has released two reports highlighting the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, and the potential impact on insurance. Taking Control: Artificial Intelligence and Insurance, published in collaboration with the University of Surrey, analyses AI implementation risks and opportunities. The report identifies four risk areas: trust and transparency, ethics, security and safety. As AI systems become more complex, cyber breaches are likely to have a greater impact, the report says. Meanwhile, there are unanswered questions around who is liable when something goes wrong. But AI also provides business opportunities for insurers, and potential benefits for their processes. The second report – Taking Control: Robots and Risk – investigates the impact collaborative robots, or “cobots”, are having on the economy, and risk implications for the insurance industry. “Over the past few years there has been a revolution in the development of AI and robotics, yet we are only just beginning to tap into the vast potential of such technologies,” said Attila Emecz, Director of Research Strategy at the University of Surrey. “We are confident these reports will help the insurance sector in developing new business models and ways of working that will deliver significant social and economic benefit to society.” See ANALYSIS.
The insurance sector stands to gain from opportunities created by the wider use of AI, but the sophisticated technology carries a greater cyber risk, according to one of two reports by Lloyd's. The first focused on the four key areas of trust and transparency, ethics, security and safety, and said liability questions remained about AI in the event of a cyber incident. In its report, which was published last week, Lloyd's said: "The potential for misuse is high, as it can be used to target individuals or groups with malicious intent.