Description: 1992 SOA Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. This session discussion is about technological advances. Topics discussed: 1. The exponential growth in power of the microchip. 2. The role of fiber optics in the revolution. 3. The role of the airwaves in the revolution. 4. The risks of over regulation.

Description: Digital is the main reason over half of the companies on the Fortune 500 have disappeared since 2000." (CEO Accenture). We cannot be sure how global technology megatrends will disrupt the life insurance industry, but we can be certain that the future will not look like today. As large quantities of available data are no longer owned by insurance companies and statistical techniques become more accessible to non-statisticians, the pressure to keep up with technological advancement increases. Life actuaries must think critically about and be prepared for the coming changes and position themselves as leaders in an industry lagging behind in new technology adoption.