Events of the last five to 10 years have inhibited the British state’s ability to plan for and deliver ‘good’ long-term policy. From the UK’s departure from the European Union to COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, the UK government’s capacity to think beyond a typical parliamentary term has been severely hampered. This isn’t a party-political criticism, nor a slight on our dedicated civil servants. It is an assessment of the various structural and behavioural barriers that prevent longer term thinking in our politics. As experts in long-term risk management, the actuarial profession is advocating a return to long-term policymaking. Last autumn we published our policy prospectus Beyond the next Parliament, to suggest ways in which government and others can take an alternative approach to ensure a longer time horizon is considered in the policymaking process. As part of this campaign, the IFoA hosting a three-part webinar series, focusing on the key policy areas addressed in the prospectus. In the second event of the series, we will focus on how the UK can seize the longevity dividend. Advances in medical care and living standards means the population is living longer, but is the UK equipped to deal with the policy challenges this brings? That’s the topic our pensions and social care experts will debate.
Speakers
David Sinclair
Catherine Foot
Anna Brain
Debbie Webb
Chair: David Heath
Within modern society, artificial intelligence has long been a part of human innovation. Its increased prevalence in recent years has rocked society and captivated global interest. Many are now suggesting that the growth of AI is heading towards an inflection point. It could be capable of producing a technological renaissance akin to the rise of the internet or the splitting of the atom. But what does the rise of AI mean for the actuarial and wider financial services sector? Our thought leadership webinar series addresses this question. We draw on expertise from the worlds of policy, science, academia, and financial services to demystify AI and its growing role in society. We tackle the big debates around AI ethics and regulation and set out the work the IFoA is doing in this space. In the fourth and final webinar, we take a deep dive into what the increased prevalence of AI means for actuaries and their work. Both now and in the future.
Speakers Matthew Edwards, Atreyee Bhattacharyya, Catherine Drummond and Dr. Alexey Mashechkin
Within modern society, artificial intelligence has long been a part of human innovation. Its increased prevalence in recent years has rocked society and captivated global interest. Many are now suggesting the growth of AI is heading towards an inflection point. It could be capable of producing a technological renaissance akin to the rise of the internet or the splitting of the atom. But what does the rise of AI mean for the actuarial and wider financial services sector? Our new thought leadership webinar series addresses this question. We draw on expertise from the worlds of policy, science, academia, and financial services to demystify AI and its growing role in society. We tackle the big debates around AI ethics and regulation and set out the work the IFoA is doing in this space. In the third event of the series, we are joined by IAA President Charles Cowling, who will lead a discussion on: how the actuarial sector is reacting to AI developments globally how different jurisdictions are approaching this challenge
Speakers Charles Cowling, Bogdan Tautan, Fei Huang
Within modern society, artificial intelligence has long been a part of human innovation. Its increased prevalence in recent years has rocked society and captivated global interest. In fact, many are now suggesting the growth of AI is heading towards
Speakers
Dr Cosmina Dorobantu, Matthew Edwards, Dr Florian Ostmann, Helene Panzarino and Andrew Strait
Within modern society, artificial intelligence has long been a part of human innovation. But its rapid advancement and increased prevalence in recent years has captivated global interest. In fact, many are now suggesting the growth of AI is heading towards an inflection point capable of producing a technological renaissance akin to the rise of the internet or the splitting of the atom. But what does the rise of AI mean for the actuarial and wider financial services sector? In our new thought leadership webinar series, the IFoA will seek to address this question. We will draw on expertise from the worlds of policy, science, academia, and financial services to demystify AI and its growing role in society. The series will seek to tackle the big debates around AI ethics and regulation and set out the work we as an organisation are undertaking in this space. In the first event of the series, we will be joined by Felicity Burch, Executive Director of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. Felicity will deliver a keynote presentation focusing on exploring AI, by explaining what it is, the latest development in its capabilities, and where it is being used across society and financial services.
Purpose
is the corporate buzzword of today, with politicians, the public, and even shareholders
calling on businesses to serve wider society. But purpose is also controversial
because companies have a responsibility to deliver returns to investors. Is
there a trade-off between purpose and profit, or is it possible for companies
to achieve both? This talk, part of the Presidential Speaker Series, will
critically examine the case for purposeful business, using rigorous evidence
and real-life examples to show what works – and, importantly, what doesn’t. It
will discuss practical ways for businesses of all sizes to put purpose into
practice – to ensure it guides a company’s day-to-day decisions, is embedded
throughout the organisation, and enhances rather than jeopardises long-run
shareholder returns. Chair: Matt Saker. Speaker: Alex Edmunds
In
the second event in the Presidential Speaker Series, Simon Sharpe (Director of
Economics for the UN Climate Champions, and a Senior Fellow at the World
Resources Institute) will host a talk on the ideas in his forthcoming book
‘Five Times Faster: Rethinking the Science, Economics and Diplomacy of Climate
Change’. In his book, Simon argues that under-recognised conceptual and
institutional failures are blocking effective action on climate change and that
addressing these is necessary to give the world a chance of limiting
temperature rise to low levels and avoiding extreme risks. In summary: Science
is focused on prediction rather than risk assessment. Government leaders are
not being given a clear picture of the full extent of the threat (and neither
are societies). Economics is assuming equilibrium when the challenge is one of
innovation and structural change. This results in consistently wrong advice
being given to governments. Diplomacy is focused on the point of least
leverage: long-term economy-wide emissions targets; when it ought to be focused
on coordinating action within specific sectors. The finance community has an
interest in each of these failures, beyond its general interest in society as a
whole. Failures of risk assessment mean the potential for large losses in asset
values over the long term is not well understood. Failures in economic analysis
mean that investment opportunities in clean technologies are not created or
realised as quickly as they could be, and this effect is amplified by the
failure of diplomacy. Within the finance community, the actuarial profession
stands out for its long-term view, and the thought leadership that it has
exercised on issues of climate change risk assessment and economics. The IFoA
co-sponsored the work on risk assessment described in the first section of the
book.
The opening event in the Presidential Speaker Series will introduce alternative economic thinking as a concept, including what each of the expert panellists perceive the limitations to be with orthodox, existing economic models. It will seek to unpack the rationale behind the need for new economic thinking and some of the various alternative models being proposed. It will also explore how new economic thought relates to actuarial work and how it might help address some of the big challenges where actuaries apply their skills. Panel: Matt Saker, President, IFoA , Lucy Saye, Chair of the IFoA Sustainability Board and member of the Economics Member Interest Group, William Hynes, Head of the New Approaches to Economic Challenges Unit at the OECD and Angus Armstrong, Director of Rebuilding Macroeconomics.