The UK government has handed out £13 million in funding to 40 artificial intelligence (AI) and data projects aiming to transform how the financial and legal sectors operate, including one that assesses the credibility of claims.
The claims software, being developed by Intelligent Voice, Strenuus and the University of East London, will combine AI and voice recognition technology to detect and interpret emotion and linguistics to assess the credibility of insurance claims.
The project is one of 40 backed by £13 million in government investment to support collaborative industry and research projects to develop the next generation of professional services.
Other insurance sector examples to benefit from the funding include an analysis tool that examines images collected by drones to assess flood-damaged areas. It uses a three-dimensional image recognition system to evaluate flood extent and depth alongside impacts on buildings and infrastructure to help with insurance claim assessments.
The funding has been delivered as part of the government’s industrial strategy, which commits to placing the UK at the forefront of the sectors and technologies of the future. The research and development projects will begin work from this month and could see initiatives rolled out in the industries by 2020/21.
These awards were made across two competitions. A portion of the £13 million was awarded across four large collaborative projects addressing sector-wide challenges in supply chains or regulators, while £7 million was awarded across 36 smaller projects looking specifically at applying AI and data techniques.
UK business secretary Greg Clark said: “Artificial intelligence and data are transforming industries across the world.We are combining our unique heritage in AI with our world beating professional services to put the UK at the forefront of these cutting-edge technologies and their application.”
“We want to ensure businesses and consumers benefit from the application of AI—from providing quicker access to legal advice for customers, to tackling fraudulent insurance claims, these projects illustrate our modern Industrial Strategy in action. We’re investing record levels in research and development so that every part of the UK can benefit from the industries and high-skilled jobs of the future.”
Professor Sir Mark Walport, chief executive of UK Research and Innovation, which administers the £20 million Next Generation Services Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, the source of the £13 million award, said: “The service industry around the world is being transformed by information technology. The Next Generation Services Challenge offers important opportunities for transformation of the legal, insurance and accountancy sectors across the UK.”
“Through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund we are building on UK expertise in artificial intelligence and data science to deliver benefits that will be felt in the services sector and beyond.”
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