Description: Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging technology — it is rapidly becoming the core engine of risk selection, pricing, underwriting, and customer interaction across insurance and financial services. But as models evolve into autonomous agentic systems and decision pipelines become more complex, traditional guardrails are being stress-tested like never before.

Description: Today's best AIs often match human experts on routine tasks - but AI automation success requires skilled implementation. Nathan will present a field-tested, three-step method for automating cognitive work: (1) understanding what AI can do & choosing the right tasks, (2) documenting processes in the form of ""gold standard examples"", and (3) systematically optimizing AI performance – all using concrete examples from actuarial practice. Master this approach and amplify your own expertise by automating repetitive work with AI. Nathan Labenz, founder and former CEO of Waymark, is a technology entrepreneur and artificial intelligence analyst. With a background in science and an eye for innovation, Nathan led Waymark from its inception to its status as a trailblazer in generative AI-powered video creation. Currently, he hosts 'The Cognitive Revolution' podcast, where he explores the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on work, life, society, and culture. Through his conversations with notable builders, researchers, and investors, Nathan helps business, policy, and academic leaders stay up to date with AI developments and implications.

Description: Understanding how to effectively adopt AI is critical to staying competitive. This session will guide you through the five stages of AI adoption, with a deep dive into two key stages: Operational Optimization and Collaborative AI Integration. You will learn how to harness AI to streamline operations and boost efficiency, while also exploring the nuances of integrating AI in decision-making to enhance outcomes through human-AI collaboration.If you are seeking practical insights on maximizing AI's benefits while maintaining human oversight, this session will provide the tools and strategies to help you do just that—ensuring that your AI adoption journey is both effective and aligned with your business goals.

Description: As an undergrad student, I discussed about my understanding of how AI is going to influence insurance industry through my volunteer experience with the SOA Actuarial Innovation and Technology Repository.

Description: The journey for microinsurance, nowadays called inclusive insurance, started a long time ago and is not complete in the majority of the low-income and low middle-income markets. When seeking to enhance inclusive insurance markets, it is useful and necessary to have a good understanding because it entails a different treatment of customers, distribution, products, pricing, client management, premium collection, claims declaration and settlement, and reporting.

Description: Letter from the editor, outlining the theme and providing a brief description of each article within this edition of NewsDirect.

Description: During the2019 InsureTech Connect conference in Las Vegas, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and Plug and Play today announced the two organizations are nearing an agreement on professional development offerings and learning opportunities. The SOA and Plug and Play plan to work together on a variety of InsurTech-focused events and projects for the SOA membership, insurance industry and technology sector.

Description: Investigate the importance of collaboration with accounting, underwriting, sales, marketing and other professions as an actuary when you attend this webcast. Cross-functional positions can cause unique challenges to arise, like various experts attempting to balance growth and profitability. Discover an opportunity to learn about relevant ASOPs and dive deeper into contemporary examples that highlight specific professionalism issues that can develop.

Description: Al is reshaping the actuarial profession at an unprecedented pace. This article explores how emerging technologies—machine learning, generative AI, and automation—are transforming actuarial practice across pricing, reserving, and risk management. It highlights opportunities for actuaries to harness AI for deeper insights, enhanced predictive power, and more efficient workflows, while also addressing the challenges of transparency, bias, and ethical responsibility. The discussion situates AI within the broader context of professional standards and regulatory expectations, emphasizing the need for governance frameworks that safeguard trust and accountability. Drawing from real-world case studies and current research, the article examines how the actuary’s role is evolving from traditional modeling to strategic data leadership. It calls for continuous learning and interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure that actuaries remain central to the future of risk and finance. Ultimately, this article offers a balanced roadmap—one that recognizes AI as both a disruptive force and a catalyst for professional reinvention.