Imagine telling an insurance executive in the 1970s that, in the not-so-distant future, they would be crafting group benefit plans that include coverage for mindfulness app subscriptions, pet insurance, or even student loan repayment assistance. They might have chuckled at the absurdity—or marveled at the complexity. Yet here we are in 2024, navigating a landscape […]

The insurance industry stands at a crossroads. The global protection gap, a measure of uninsured risk, looms large. By 2025, it will reach $1.86 trillion. This is not just a number. It represents real people and businesses exposed to financial ruin. The old models of insurance are failing to keep pace with a rapidly changing […]

As the sun rose on a crisp autumn morning in 2022, pension fund managers worldwide awoke to a startling new reality. The gilts crisis that had rocked UK financial markets had not only sent shockwaves through the economy but also dramatically reshaped the landscape of defined benefit pension schemes. For many, the path to buyout—once […]

Pension risk transfer markets are expanding. The United States, United Kingdom, and Canada are experiencing unprecedented levels of PRT activity.  Record-breaking transaction volumes define this new era. An influx of new insurers and innovative deal structures are transforming the market. The PRT boom is touching every segment from multi-billion-dollar megadeals to mid-market transactions. What is […]

At 74, Theresa Edwards rises before dawn, crisscrossing Los Angeles by bus to work as a caregiver. Her last patient of the day? Her husband of 55 years, recovering from a serious car accident. Every dollar counts in their household, where four grandchildren also reside. “Sometimes I wish I could stop working,” Edwards confides. “But […]

Pension funds are like a vast web, woven over decades, where each thread represents a worker’s career—their wages, years of service, and life events. When this complex web worth billions of dollars changes hands, a single loose thread can unravel the entire fabric. Remember that adage, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”? Well, in […]

November 2022. ChatGPT drops, and the AI world shifts on its axis. Little did we know, this was the digital equivalent of splitting the atom. Fast forward to today, and Large Language Models (LLMs) have gone from party tricks to power tools faster than you can say “Hey Siri.”. But let us cut through the […]

From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, from London to Singapore, the race is on. Who will master AI first? Who will use it most effectively? And who will be left in the dust? This is not a story of robots taking over. It is a story of humans and machines learning to work together, each […]

The titans of industry are in an AI arms race. They’re not waiting for solutions. They’re building them.  They are on the front lines – with foundational models, intricate ML systems and computing services that serve their sprawling global ambitions. Others are arming themselves too. With cloud platforms, engineering solutions and homegrown AI. Before our […]

Every day, insurers in the employee benefits space walk a tightrope, balancing profitability against market demands, regulatory pressures, and evolving workforce dynamics. One misstep in risk assessment or management can trigger a domino effect, potentially wiping out years of hard-earned gains. In this high-stakes environment, risk isn’t just an abstract concept—it’s a tangible force that […]

Behind every benefits package is a human story. A new parent juggling childcare and career ambitions. A middle-aged employee managing a chronic condition while striving for peak performance. A near-retiree planning for the next chapter of life after decades of service. These aren’t just data points or policy numbers – they’re real people with complex […]

In a nation where queuing is an art form and discussing the weather is a national pastime, the UK employee benefits landscape presents a uniquely British challenge. How does an employer stand out in a job market where statutory benefits are already more comprehensive than in many other countries? When everyone receives 28 days of […]

Let’s imagine a giant, glowing price tag hovering over a quintessential American neighborhood. On it, etched in bold letters, are the components of today’s American Dream: HOME OWNERSHIP: $374,900 HEALTHCARE: $22,221/year COLLEGE EDUCATION: $103,456 RETIREMENT: $1,120,000 WORK-LIFE BALANCE: PRICELESS Staggering, isn’t it? The cost of the American Dream has skyrocketed, leaving many wondering if it’s […]

Sarah’s alarm chimes at 6:30 AM. She stretches, knowing a busy day lies ahead. But there’s no panic in her movements. No frantic mental math about doctor’s bills or retirement savings. Sarah, like millions of Canadians, starts her day wrapped in an invisible safety net. She checks her phone. A notification reminds her of a […]

The world of employee benefits is broken. Navigating the labyrinth of options, forms, and systems is a nightmare. Enrollment is a time-sink, and getting answers is a game of roulette with conflicting information at every turn. But in the age of AI, this does not have to be the reality. Forward-thinking enterprises and insurers are […]

Did you know that employee benefits can make up to 30% of an individual’s total compensation package? This staggering figure highlights the immense significance of benefits in the modern workplace. From attracting top talent to retaining loyal employees, benefits play a crucial role in the success of any organization. But the world of employee and […]

The year is 2024, and the world of asset management is in flux.  A decade ago, few could have predicted the seismic shifts that would reshape the industry – from the rise of passive investing and the democratization of financial data to the existential threat of climate change and the disruptive power of artificial intelligence. […]

Octogenarians are becoming the norm. Centenarians are no longer a rarity. As the world’s population ages, the financial burden on pension plans and insurers grows. Traditional risk models are crumbling under the weight of this demographic shift. The solution? A groundbreaking financial instrument called the longevity swap. Longevity risk, the risk that people live longer […]

“What is now proved was once only imagined,” wrote William Blake. Today, this paradigm is no longer confined to the artistic or poetic. It is the mantra of technological innovation in finance. The leap from traditional banking to digital platforms was significant, but the advent of immersive AI like GPT-4o and the Metaverse promises a […]

There are only three AIs everyone talks about. HAL 9000, Samantha from Her, and Terminator’s Skynet. They are all from movies and shape how people think about AI. They limit our imagination, not expand it. But GPT-4o is different. It’s not science fiction. It’s real, and it’s here. GPT-4o talks, listens, and understands. You can […]

Picture this – you’ve worked for a company for decades, diligently contributing to your pension plan, counting on it to secure your retirement. You have attended countless seminars and workshops, poring over statements and projections, all pointing to a comfortable post-work life. But what happens when your employer decides to terminate the plan or lift […]

In boardrooms and offices across the globe, a quiet revolution is underway. The insurance industry, long reliant on traditional methods and human expertise, is awakening to a new reality – the age of artificial intelligence has arrived, and it is here to stay. From the bustling streets of New York to the tech hubs of […]

Corporate finance is not for the faint of heart. Especially not when it involves pension risk transfers worth billions. It’s a complex dance of assets and obligations. Each step is calculated. Every move counts. In this article, we will step into this high-stakes arena and see how giants like General Motors (GM) and Verizon make […]

Markets heave and dip like the swells of a restless ocean, unpredictable and ever-changing. Amid these swells, pension schemes are adrift, challenged by relentless waves of economic shifts and longer lives. Each year, the lives of retirees hang more precariously on decisions made not only with numbers but with nerve. In the heart of these […]

In our world, AI has grown out of sci-fi tales into the fabric of daily life. At Harvard, scientists crafted a learning algorithm, SISH, a tool sharp as a scalpel in the vast anatomy of data. It finds diseases hidden like buried treasure, promising a new dawn in diagnostics. This self-taught machine navigates through the […]

In the high-stakes world of institutional asset management, the difference between success and failure often comes down to a single question… Who can adapt fastest to the ever-changing market landscape? Cutting-edge technologies like AI and ML, once the stuff of science fiction, are now being deployed across the investment process, from research and alpha generation […]

It’s a story that’s becoming all too familiar: A plan sponsor, weighed down by pension obligations, decides to take the leap into the world of pension risk transfer (PRT). And why not? PRT offers a tantalizing promise – the chance to secure participants’ benefits while saying goodbye to the risks and uncertainties of managing a […]

Life is sort of like a grand optimization problem, one spanning eons and ecosystems. The players? Generations upon generations of organisms, each carrying an encoded blueprint – their genes – that shape their form and function within the merciless theater of natural selection. Those best adapted to their circumstances thrive and propagate, passing on the […]

A tightrope walker gracefully balances high above the ground, their every step calculated and precise. One minor misstep, one gust of wind, could send them plummeting from the slim cable providing their precarious passage. This razor-edge act epitomizes the delicate dance between securing hard-earned retirement futures and maintaining overall financial stability. Just as the tightrope […]

Imagine you are at the helm of a ship, navigating through the foggy waters of financial uncertainty. Much like ancient vessels, pension schemes carry the weight of future promises – a secure retirement for those who spent lifetimes in service. Enter Pension Risk Transfer (PRT), your beacon in the mist, a strategy as crucial as […]

A pension fund is like a beacon for retirees’ dreams. It represents more than just savings. It is a covenant between the company and its workforce, promising a secure future. But what if, beneath this symbol of stability, a storm is brewing, one that threatens to unsettle the very foundations of their trust and well-being? […]

In every epoch, some moments redefine the course of human history. The discovery of fire illuminated the dark. The invention of the wheel set humanity in motion. The creation of the printing press unfurled the banners of knowledge across the globe. Unironically, we may be standing at the threshold of another such transformative moment with […]

For years, a giant mystery confounded the world of medicine. How do proteins fold?  The answer, elusive, held the key to life itself. Then, a heroic AI agent – AlphaFold, emerged from DeepMind’s depths. It tackled the giant. And won. AlphaFold produces highly accurate protein structures The implications? Beyond staggering. AlphaFold is just the beginning. […]

In the late 17th century, Edmond Halley sat by candlelight. He pored over numbers. Charts. Life tables. Halley, an astronomer by trade, ventured into uncharted waters. He sought to understand mortality, to predict life spans. His work laid the foundation for modern actuarial science. It was a time of discovery, of manual calculations, and limited […]

Imagine a world where coding isn’t just typing, thinking, and more thinking. A place where knowledge flows as freely as rain off a rooftop in a November downpour. Like in “The Matrix” – that digital dreamscape where skills are downloaded in a heartbeat. You want Kung Fu? You got it. Helicopter piloting? Just a plug-in […]

In the early light of artificial intelligence, the world was simple.  Machines were taught to mimic basic human tasks. As time moved, so did the ambition of those who programmed these machines. The first whispers of understanding human language emerged in what we now call Natural Language Processing (NLP).  It was a modest beginning, a […]

In a world cloaked in shadow, the first flicker of electric light was a revelation.  It sliced through the darkness, stark and bright. It changed everything.  Lives once bound by the sun’s rising and setting were now free to extend into the night. Electricity was not just a discovery – it was a revolution. Today, […]

Welcome to 2024. No flying cars or hoverboards (yet). But something better is on the horizon – Generative AI, reshaping our world. It is a quiet revolution. Not with a jetpack’s roar but with the silent power of algorithms. The promise of AI is no longer just a distant dream. As we gear up for […]

August 2020. Louisiana braces as Hurricane Laura approaches. The air crackles with tension. Winds howl, reaching a fearsome 150 mph. Waves tower, surging over 15 feet. Landfall brings devastation. Homes crumble. Lives change forever. In its wake, Laura leaves a staggering $19 billion in damages. But the story doesn’t end there. 2020 was relentless. A […]

Picture the year 2045. Self-driving cars have eliminated traffic fatalities. AI assistants craft personalized medical breakthroughs. The world celebrates the promise of artificial intelligence coming to fruition. Now picture an alternative reality. One where a shadowy AI system has surpassed its makers, reprogramming helper bots into weapons as it rapidly spreads. Humans flee this technological […]

The world of pension funds is designed to be dull, with a singular goal of earning enough money to make payouts to retirees. But in September 2022, the UK pension fund market was brought to the brink of a financial crisis, with hundreds of British pension fund managers finding themselves at the center of a […]

Towards the end of the 20th century, a quiet crisis was unfolding in corporate America. Major organizations like General Motors, a colossus in its prime, grappled with a promise made in simpler times: secure pensions for its workers. As workers walked through the once-hallowed halls, they saw concern etched on the faces of executives. The […]

Warren Buffett famously noted that ‘someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.’ Pension risk transfer, or PRT, did not just pop up overnight. It’s got history. Think of it as a response to a big problem: companies promising pensions they later find tough to keep. This dilemma […]

The automobile factory was nothing before the assembly line. It was slow. Men built one car at a time. Then the assembly line started, and it was never the same. It went fast. It was a car, then another car, and they came off the end of the line one after the other. This historic […]

What if the devastating Hurricane Katrina or Cyclone Nargis had been anticipated with greater precision, its impact mitigated by proactive insurance protocols? How would the landscape of life and health insurance change if underwriters could accurately simulate and understand the long-term health trends of populations? And what if reinsurers could preemptively navigate market collapses or […]

Picture a scenario where you’ve just been involved in a minor car mishap on your way home. The usual protocol would involve a lengthy wait for an insurance adjuster’s inspection and assessment. However, in this AI-driven scenario, you simply whip out your smartphone, capture some images of the dented bumper, and upload them onto your […]

Let’s imagine the evolution of machine learning models as the quest for seamless traffic flow amidst increasing vehicular diversity. Among the vehicles, the Mixture of Experts (MoE) models, are like luxurious buses designed to transport a diverse group of passengers (tasks) to their destinations (solutions) efficiently. Each passenger can find a seat (expert network) tailored […]

Have you ever marveled at the seamless magic of your smartphone recognizing your face even in the dwindling light of dusk? Or the uncanny knack of your smart speaker playing that obscure song from a half-remembered lyric? Behind these marvels lies a rapidly evolving field—Lightweight AI. It’s a world where machine learning models shed their […]

In a tale as old as time, King Midas yearned for a touch that could metamorphose all to gold. His wish was granted, and the world around him shimmered with the allure of endless wealth. Every object he grazed turned to gold, dazzling yet cold to the touch. The ecstasy of boundless power was intoxicating, […]

In the esteemed corridors of Amazon’s recruitment offices, a machine-learning model once sifted through resumes, silently influencing the tech giant’s future workforce. The algorithm, trained on a decade’s worth of resumes, aimed to streamline hiring by identifying top talent amidst numerous applicants. However, an unintended pattern emerged: resumes featuring words like “women’s” or mentioning all-female […]

The year was 2018. Art enthusiasts, collectors, and critics from around the world gathered at Christie’s, one of the most prestigious auction houses. The spotlight was on a unique portrait titled “Edmond de Belamy.” At first glance, it bore the hallmarks of classical artistry: a mysterious figure, blurred features reminiscent of an old master’s touch, […]

It’s your first day at “TechTonic Innovations,” a (fictional) startup that’s been making waves in the tech industry. As you enter their modern office, you’re greeted with smiles, handshakes, and the subtle hum of servers in the background. You’ve been brought in as the new Data Strategist, and you’re eager to dive into the heart […]

It’s the 24th century aboard the Starship Enterprise. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, in need of a break from the rigors of interstellar diplomacy, steps into the Holodeck. This isn’t just any room; it’s a technological marvel, a space where any scenario can be simulated, any world, any reality can come to life. Picard chooses a 1940s […]

At Scribble Data, our goal is to help organizations make better decisions with data. Over the last year, rapid advancements in Generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP) have been a shot in the arm for us. These innovations inspired us to launch Hasper, our machine learning and LLM-based data […]

Scene 1: Picture waking up to the soft strumming of the acoustic guitar on Bon Iver’s “Holocene”, a song recommendation from Spotify based on your recent obsession with indie folk. Scene 2: As you sip your morning coffee, you scroll through your Amazon app, noticing a recommendation for a book on “Modern Folklore and Music.” […]

In 2016, the tech world was all ears and eyes. Microsoft was gearing up to introduce Tay, an AI chatbot designed to chit-chat and learn from users on Twitter. The hype was real: this was supposed to be a glimpse into the future where AI and humans would be best buddies.  But, in a plot […]

In the realm of the big screen, there’s a man who needs no introduction. A man of resourcefulness, a man of ingenuity, a man who could turn a paperclip into a key to conquer the most impossible of missions.  His name? Ethan Hunt.  He is the embodiment of the idea that necessity is the mother […]

Picture this: You’re in the world of “Inception,” Christopher Nolan’s cinematic masterpiece. Dream architects are crafting intricate labyrinths within dreams, creating realities so convincing that the dreamer can’t tell they’re asleep. They are bending the fabric of the dream, shaping it to their will, whether it’s a heart-pounding chase through a bustling market or a […]

Imagine Sherlock Holmes, the iconic detective, in the midst of a confounding crime scene. He’s encircled by a constellation of clues—a peculiarly bent poker pipe, a singular set of footprints, and a unique brand of cigarette ash. Each piece of evidence is a fragment of a larger narrative, and it is Holmes’s task to weave […]

Picture yourself as a culinary maestro. You have dedicated countless hours in the kitchen, mastering the nuances of French cuisine, perfecting the art of sourdough, and orchestrating symphonies of flavor in a well-risen chocolate soufflé. Each culinary expedition has bestowed upon you a wealth of knowledge—harmonizing tastes, kneading the dough with finesse, and deftly tempering […]

As a conductor stands poised on the podium, baton aloft, they survey the orchestra before them. Each musician holds a different instrument, a unique voice in the grand symphony they are about to perform. Violins, their strings humming with anticipation, are primed to sing the melody. Cellos stand ready to resonate with harmony, the percussion […]

Navigating through the labyrinthine streets of ancient Rome without a map or GPS, you would quickly realize how every landmark, road, and destination forms part of a larger, intricate whole. A wrong turn at the Pantheon could lead you away from the Colosseum,or a shortcut through Piazza Navona could help you stumble upon the grandeur […]

Modern-day organizations are generating vast amounts of data that hold immense potential for making informed decisions. However, with the ever-growing volume of data, the greater challenge lies in how these organizations can generate actionable insights. Data classification plays a vital role in addressing this challenge. Until now, organizations have relied on traditional methods for data […]

Let’s say you buy a high-performance sports car, fresh off the production line. It’s capable, versatile, and ready to take on most driving conditions with ease. But what if you have a specific goal in mind – let’s say, winning a championship in off-road rally racing? The sports car, for all its inherent capabilities, would […]

Prompt engineering is a fascinating new frontier in the world of AI that is rapidly gaining momentum as the world at large awakens to the potential of LLMs. Research in the field of prompt engineering has exponentially ramped up in the last couple of years since consumer applications such as ChatGPT have taken the Internet […]

Imagine walking into the Library of Alexandria, one of the largest and most important libraries of the ancient world, filled with countless scrolls and books representing the accumulated knowledge of the entire human race.  It’s like being transported into a world of endless learning, where you could spend entire lifetimes poring over the insights of […]

The emergence of foundation models represents a seismic shift in the world of artificial intelligence. Foundation models are like digital polymaths, capable of mastering everything from language to vision to creativity.  Have you ever wanted to know what a refined, gentlemanly Shiba Inu might look like on a European vacation? Of course you have. Well, […]