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Goodbye Data… Hello Knowledge

Goodbye Data… Hello Knowledge

It’s now not about how data drives sectors, it’s about how much, where and how it is harnessed most effectively as we enter the new Knowledge Age.

According to Forbes from 2010 to 2020, the amount of data created, captured, copied, and consumed in the world increased from 1.2 trillion gigabytes to 59 trillion gigabytes, an almost 5,000% growth. And that in the coming years the five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2024 of the data created, captured, copied, and consumed in the world; the amount of data created over the next three years will be more than the data created over the past 30 years.

Align this to the fast evolution and advancement of the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and tools to execute its usage; learning algorithms, decision tree making, chat technologies and the like and one can easily see that we are now transitioning from the Digital Era into the so-called Knowledge Age. Without wishing to oversimplify the concept, if one thinks about the differences in the context of electricity, the Data Age was about electric power coming down the wires (call that the internet) into our houses, the Knowledge Age is about what happens when you plug it in, and all those smart things begin to happen to improve our lives.

I came across this definition of the Knowledge Age that I think really sums it up very well. According to NewsRx, a technology company focused on Artificial Intelligence, computational journalism, and knowledge discovery it is defined as:

The Knowledge Age is an era in which artificial intelligence processes information for humans and turns it into knowledge, and in some cases, decisions. 

In the endless sea of digital information that defines the 21st century, AI can sort through the noise and deliver knowledge to us with the precision of GPS coordinates. The Knowledge Age will prove an era that transforms who we are and how we live–and it is an era well on its way.

I think this is recognisable to us all who operate in and around the insurance sector where much of our skills have been defined by an ability to take in broad sources of information and use our human abilities to filter through it to focus in upon the material information that drives decision making. I think it’s also fair to say that hitherto in some quarters there has been a reluctance to embrace the automation of this by AI, with a mistrust that any machine can be sentient or capable of seeing all the nuances, it simply drives unemotional objective decision making against the mature personal, experience driven subjective decision making.

Looking at this another way, the subjective over objective decision making could be framed negatively as being driven by individual culture, appetite and/or prejudices; both positive and negative. Lacking objectivity to those decisions then meaning people drive into safe places, knowing what they know, and avoiding things that they don’t as they are deemed too “risky”.

Recognising the vast array of data that is out there and now with the myriad of AI tools that can help analyse it does mean that without much of a leap of faith then we can skip a generation and deep dive into the world of AI where human decision is shaped by full acceptance of what the AI is telling us and adapting our decision processes to overlay the human intervention. I can hear many reading this, say that we’re already doing this. This is true but too many are seeing the Ai as completely subservient to their own decision making, not as an equal and respected partner. This is where there is a real leap of faith, a huge culture shift. A shift that reframes the whole underwriting art and science. A change that will see the emergence of a new gene pool of talent with the rise of the Chief Knowledge Officer and organisations fully investing in data scientists to match and perhaps exceed the volume of technical underwriting roles.

Too big a leap? Perhaps to contextualise this and create some urgency around embracing this journey. As the UK emerges from both Brexit and the potentially much larger societal changes that the pandemic will lay upon us, many of the old bets are off and new pain and gain factors exist. As a good City of London citizen I was heartily encouraged by the City’s Corporation and Lord Mayor’s Office’s co-produced report London Recharged: Our Vision for London in 2025 The report is too detailed to do justice here, but to lift some of its commentary:

The UK must re-invent old (yet critically important) relationships and is now at a crossroads. Will it be open or look inward? We advocate for openness, which has underpinned London’s historic successes.

COVID-19 lockdowns turbo-charged the widespread transition to digital, as tech became essential to helping people stay connected and work remotely. The significant increase in home working has accelerated adoption of teleworking, telemedicine, e-learning, and e-commerce.

Attitudes towards the use of tech and artificial intelligence (AI) in city services has also changed, with 30% of UK residents feeling more positive about these applications since the pandemic began. Many of these changes are likely to be long-lasting

Even without the COVID-19 pandemic, global tech firms would have continued expanding from their traditional strongholds to dominate other industries. This is forcing traditional players to re-think their customer experience and accelerate tech transformations. The traditional tech focus on customer needs and experience has allowed them to create ‘sticky’ platforms that span across sectors and expand into new businesses.

“We will continue to see more crossover between tech and financial services. London’s ecosystem is particularly attractive because of the convergence of these two industries at scale. The ability to collaborate, innovate and drive new customer innovations is unparalleled.”
Ed Bowles Director of Public Policy (Northern, Central and Eastern Europe), Facebook

In conclusion therefore, it is clear to us that we are at the pivot point of this new era. Those that recognise this and embrace transformation will gain both a quick and long-living commercial advantage. Those that do not, may find themselves quickly becoming the Kodak” of insurance.

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