In recommendations submitted to the Treasury Select Committee (TSC), the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) says institutions and individuals must be held accountable for decisions made using AI, and advocates for a ‘skills strategy’ to support the use of AI within financial services.
The 120,000-strong membership body says professionals should ‘always be prepared to take accountability for the outcomes created by AI, either through design or monitoring’, adding that all professionals should be educated on the potential harm that can come from mis-managing AI.
In its submission to the TSC, the CII recommends that institutions should be held responsible for decisions made by the algorithms that they use, ‘even if it is not feasible to explain in detail how the algorithms produce their results’. It says this accountability should be backed up with validation and testing, especially for discriminatory harm, and institutions should make the results of these tests public.
The CII says that a ‘proportionate, regulatory approach’ to the use of AI in financial services would include implementation of a sector wide skills strategy, in which all employees of firms receive education on the potential and risks of AI, in order to strike the right balance between optimising its use and protecting consumers.
It says that this will allow heathy debate within firms and the wider profession about the most effective use of AI, increasing trust over the long-term.
The submission draws on CII consumer research carried out over several years as part of its Public Trust Index, and highlights the potential for AI to support key areas that consumers and SMEs are seen to value in insurance, including ‘cost’, ‘protection’, ‘ease of use’, and ‘confidence’.
In advocating for a focus on governance of AI within firms, the CII points to its Digital Companion to the Code of Ethics and Addressing Gender Bias in Artificial Intelligence, which set out practical steps that individuals and firms can take to use AI in a responsible way.
Dr Matthew Connell, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the CII, said: “While AI has been employed within insurance for many years, it is important that we continuously assess how it can be optimised for both professionals and consumers. We welcome the opportunity to offer recommendations to the Treasury Select Committee, and utilise the extensive consumer research carried out by the CII to inform this work on AI in financial services.”
The CII has developed a range of courses and materials for professionals to build their understanding and use of AI, including an introductory course to data science and AI, CPD materials, guides and articles around the opportunities and risks associated with AI.
The CII’s recommendations to the Treasury Select Committee can be accessed here.