In 2015, New York Life Insurance Co. began building up a data science team to investigate the use of predictive models to improve efficiency and increase productivity.
There were quite a few deployments of predictive models across the company with a little artificial intelligence to aid in automation. Most of the projects were not centered around machine learning and AI but traditional data science. Models were generally used to support actuarial assumptions, to aid agent recruiting, and enhance the purchase experience (e.g., bypassing the need for blood tests for underwriting).
General AI was also used in creating marketing campaigns to determine the most appropriate audiences to target.
In November 2022, everything changed. San Francisco start-up OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a large language model (LLM)-based chatbot that could be used by enterprises to automate all kinds of tasks and scour internal documents for valuable content. It could be used to summarize email and text threads, online meetings and perform advanced data analytics.
Agents and service representatives could use the chatbot technology to obtain detailed answers for clients in a fraction of the time it normally would. New employees no longer needed months to be brought up to speed and instead could be trained to use generative AI to find the information they needed to do their jobs.
Last month, New York Life announced the hire of Don Vu, a veteran data and analytics executive, to lead a newly formed artificial intelligence (AI) and data team with responsibility for AI, data, and insights capabilities and aligning data architecture with business architecture in support of the company’s business strategy and objectives.
His work will be “essential” to the 178-year-old company’s future strategies around AI and the desire to created industry-leading experiences for customers, agents, advisors, and employees.
Alex Cook, senior vice president and head of Strategic Capabilities at New York Life, created the company’s data science team eight years ago. Cook sits on the company’s executive management committee, and his responsibilities include enterprise-wide technology, data, and AI as well as strategy and development and overseeing New York Life’s corporate venture capital group.
New York Life
New York Life’s Alex Cook
Cook spoke to Computerworld about the company’s AI investments and how genAI is changing its approach to internal skills needs and hiring. The following are excerpts from that intreview.
What are some of the biggest AI challenges at New York Life? “One of the challenges is just ensuring as we’re building out some of these capabilities that we’re doing it in places where it really makes a difference. It’s easy to see a shiny object and for people to get excited about it. And there are so many potential applications. We need to stay focused on those things that really move the needle for the company and for our clients and agents…
2023-11-18 18:41:02
Article from www.computerworld.com rnrn