As we roll over to the new year, I’m excited to provide some insights into how the Emerging Topics Community has been operating as well as potential initiatives to expect in the coming year.
Year in Summary
Our community volunteers have worked hard to produce a lot this year while ironing out the operating procedures and governance structure as the pilot community for the incoming SOA Community model.
Over the past year, our community has:
- Launched a new AI subgroup hosting engaging and successful discussions with the community.
- Updated our iconic modeling bootcamp to include a homework component, applying the concepts taught to a practical modeling exercise.
- Hosted a networking breakfast at the SOA ValAct meeting, where we hosted roundtables on various topics related to Modeling, Technology, and AI.
- Coordinated dozens of webcasts, podcasts, articles, and topic calls covering many ideas, including:
- Challenges in modeling and analysis for specific reporting regimes.
- Modeling and tool-related tips, such as using AI tools, new Excel functionality, and Git.
- Data Science and AI-related topics.
A View into the AI Subgroup
Modeled after the Health section’s subgroups, the AI subgroup was established to facilitate interactive open forum discussions with interested members of the community, focusing on a singular topic, AI in this case. The subgroup enabled community members to engage with each other, showcase their learnings, and provide ideas for future content that subgroup leads could bring to the Community Advisory Team (CAT) and the Content & Engagement Work Group.
How did it Work?
The subgroup hosted monthly Topic Calls, each touching on an AI-specific topic with one or more presenters. Audience members were encouraged to share their perspectives or even demo a quick presentation, such as an AI use case they’ve had success with.
How was it Managed?
A volunteer team consisting of both elected and non-elected community members, chaired by the AI subgroup leads, coordinated putting together a pipeline for agenda topics and recruiting speakers.
What did we Deliver?
A few examples of the monthly AI subgroup calls included presentations on vibe-coding, AI regulations, live AI tool demos, and more.
How do you Join?
Any community member can join the subgroup by subscribing to the AI subgroup within the Emerging Topics Community in the Community Memberships portal.
Looking Ahead to Next Year
I’m honored to be returning as chair of the Emerging Topics Community for the coming year. Some ideas that I’m considering, subject to discussion within the council and volunteer bandwidth, are:
- Programming bootcamp (already in development), AI bootcamp or contest (e.g., Kaggle).
- Climate change content.
- Live “vibe-coding”/AI-assisted programming sessions.
- Open-source tools subgroup.
I would love to connect with folks on other ideas we could consider in the future. You can find me on LinkedIn, where I’m also posting about Emerging Topics Community initiatives.
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Arthur da Silva is the chair of the Emerging Topics Community and is VP, actuarial at Slope Software, a modern and transparent actuarial modelling and analysis platform. He is also involved with several AI-related professional development initiatives at the SOA.