Connecticut Companies Showcase Artificial Intelligence Applications

‘Transform Healthcare‘
Dr. Barry Stein, vice president and chief clinical innovation officer at Hartford HealthCare, spoke about AI’s ability to “transform healthcare.” He began by acknowledging the competitive advantage for embracing the technology.“There’s a lot of friction in healthcare, but that’s an opportunity for innovation.” Hartford HealthCare’s Barry Stein
Innovation
The two major categories of innovation AI has driven at Hartford HealthCare are clinical and operational. With clinical predictive analytics, the company can make predictions about treatments and likely diagnoses of patients in advance.Using AI to make predictions helps Hartford HealthCare prepare treatment for patients ahead of time.
‘Saving Lives’
Operational analytics helps the company in logistical preparation. When COVID-19 began, Stein said businesses struggled so much because nobody was prepared for what was to come. “It was literally like flying in the dark,” Stein said, adding, “how do you operate a massive healthcare system when you have no idea what to expect?”“This is the kind of thing that is so impactful, and we could not have done it without AI.” Stein
Insurance Underwriting
Two representatives from insurance company Travelers spoke about the benefit of AI in their underwriting program. George Lee, senior director of A.I. accelerator, and Murat Yasar, A.I. research lead, both see the technology as the next step in making their work more accurate and efficient. The two began with an example of the important yet time-consuming role underwriters play in determining roof conditions for property insurance. In some cases, an underwriter could have to look at 100 different roofs using online mapping software to determine the condition—a laborious process that cannot be done quickly.Customer Experience
Using AI, Travelers created an image segmentation classification model that could scan the images and determine the quality of roofs. This process, which normally takes months without AI, can now be completed in a matter of hours. “We can make our underwriters much more efficient, as well as make our customer experience much better,” Yasar said.“We can make our underwriters much more efficient, as well as make our customer experience much better.” Travelers’ Murat Yasar
Teaching Children
Tim Gifford’s company Movia Robotics uses robots to communicate with and teach children on the autism spectrum. Gifford’s research found the robots create a simple and nonjudgemental environment to teach children who typically have trouble communicating. The robots are not fully autonomous yet as the company is relatively young, so there is always an adult present to facilitate the interactions with the children. Much of the interactions between the robots and the children comes through what Gifford calls “contextual AI.”Dynamic Interaction
“Sometimes the robot leads the child, and sometimes the child leads the robot,” Gifford explained. “It’s not just the robot saying ‘follow me, do it,’ sometimes the robot is seeing where the child is and is meeting the child there.” The company’s AI software allows the robot to fluctuate between different modes of interaction, such as being a teacher, a coach, a therapist, a friend, and even a playmate.“To the child, the robot is like a dynamic, fully formed person.” Movia Robotics’ Tim Gifford
RELATED
EXPLORE BY CATEGORY
Stay Connected with CBIA News Digests
The latest news and information delivered directly to your inbox.