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Artificial Intelligence
AI in Action
Artificial intelligence is transforming the business landscape. From insurance to boating, companies are leveraging AI to automate processes, glean insights from data and better serve customers.
As we go about our daily lives, artificial intelligence is everywhere. It’s sorting through our e-mail for spam and recognizing our faces to unlock our smartphones. It’s tracking our steps and reminding us to take deep breaths. It’s mapping out the best route to get to that business meeting across town and rerouting us in real time when traffic gets snarled.
As it transforms our lives, AI also is transforming the economy. Bank of America researchers project that AI software and hardware will generate $900 billion in services and sales revenue by 2026 — and AI will contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
To get an idea of how the technology is shaping Florida’s business landscape, we spoke with a variety of executives from around the state. Here’s what they told us.
- INSURANCE
“AI is transforming the insurance industry, helping insurance advisors analyze large amounts of data. NSI Insurance Group has implemented AI into our internal operations to help us provide an additional layer of risk management and enhanced customer service. Through AI, we can efficiently and proactively monitor our clients’ policies to ensure we consistently provide the most cost-effective options. NSI’s subsidiary company, HoneyQuote, is transforming the way homeowners shop for insurance by allowing consumers to purchase insurance entirely online, writing and binding policies within minutes.”
— Oscar Seikaly, CEO, NSI Insurance Group
- HIGHER EDUCATION
“AI demands higher education’s embrace. If we do not use it in teaching, the students will use it anyway. Now, Florida Gulf Coast University faculty are starting to implement the tool into class assignments, and we have recently appointed a provost faculty fellow for AI to improve the campus community’s AI literacy … At the same time, we must acknowledge that AI can be used in negative ways. This has led us to address the misuse of AI, as it relates to academic integrity, within the student code of conduct.”
— Aysegul Timur, President, Florida Gulf Coast University
- ACCOUNTING
“The adoption of advanced software and online tools has revolutionized how we manage tasks, such as recording clients’ financial information and generating reports. Automation has taken over many routine processes, enabling us to channel our efforts into essential services like consulting with and advising clients. We also have long placed an emphasis on technologydriven services. By leveraging the targeted data analytics our tools provide us, we’re able to better understand our clients’ needs and provide them with more meaningful insight. For example, we’re using both optical recognition scanners and data analytics software that analyzes client data to look for outliers in their financial statements.”
— Cristina Hale, Tampa and Orlando Tax Practice Leader, BDO USA
- HEALTH CARE
“AI has tremendous potential to revolutionize the health care industry. In the last 50 years, we’ve seen numerous technological innovations that have made lasting impacts on our society, such as personal computers and mobile phones. Each advance has helped create a better, more efficient and interconnected society. I see AI as the next exciting iteration and, as long as appropriate guardrails are established, I am optimistic about its potential. While these benefits are enticing, the health care industry must be thoughtful in its approach to AI and ensure the proper protections are in place to protect those we serve from both a privacy and a cybersecurity perspective.”
— Pat Geraghty, CEO, GuideWell Mutual Holding Corp. and Florida Blue
- TOURISM
“The tourism industry can see the benefit from AI in composing and writing, as well as inspiration for ads, travel planning, itineraries, social media posts and other content. However, it must all be factchecked as it is stagnant data and not continually updated. AI must represent your brand voice for it to be highly effective. It can be a great tool for assistance in creating things but may not be the best for delivering a final product.”
— Michael Corrigan, President and CEO, Visit Jacksonville
- NON-PROFITS
“I have personally begun to use AI to help me carry out research — which does need to be cross-checked — to structure arguments and to vet materials I receive. In some ways it’s nothing short of miraculous; in our sector, we can use all the additional talent we can get.
Yet I have also read commentary on the evolution of generative AI that plays out the following scenario: AI is already being used to generate a significant amount of content on the web. If AI relies on the information on the World Wide Web to build out its algorithm but is consuming a significant amount of machine-generated content, the quality of that algorithm will degenerate dramatically.
If that’s the short-term prospect of AI, generative AI 2.0 might end up being significantly more expensive than this first version. Even so, it might still be a boon for the sector, as it is likely to be a cost-effective input into the production function as long as non-profits have staff who are adept at knowing where AI can be brought in and where it cannot.”
— Mari Kuraishi, President, Jessie Ball DuPont Fund
