Marsh director, emerging technologies, Leslie Chacko, told delegates at PARIMA’s Bangkok conference it is time to wholeheartedly embrace artificial intelligence but beware of the risks

Digital transformation in the 4.0 age gives businesses the power to prioritise in their business in a way that they have never been able to do before, according to Marsh’s director, emerging technologies, Leslie Chacko. 

Prior to the rise of digital, Chacko said businesses should embrace and apply the new technologies to improve customer experiences, streamline business practices through AI and give the business a chance to save money and focus on higher value items for the business. 

”We are accelerating into the digital era. If you think about where we were over the past 150 years, we have come across opportunities to drive change for our businesses. 

“The number one thing that comes with change is fear. The fear that your job will be taken away. But people missed to take advantage of higher priority tasks. It comes with significant promises to change some of our biggest challenges we are facing - climate issue, population issues, health issue,” said Chacko

Gamechangers such as artificial intelligence come with significant promise. Referring to blockchain, he said it is opening up opportunity to people without the intermediaries and the challenges which comes with that. 

Artificial intelligence is “rapidly becoming prime time”, said Chacko, adding that it is important for risk managers to understand the risks, challenges and opportunity that come with this new type fo technology. 

He said though AI has been around for around 50 years, algorithms are becoming highly sophisticated and there are ways to use and store massive amounts of data through cloud services meaning businesses are able to focus on other things important to them. 

But he noted the challenge for risk managers is finding the ideal balance between utilising the technology effectively and managing the risks associated such as cyber risk. 

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