The correlation between a country's digital advancement and public trust in artificial intelligence (AI) revealed an interesting dynamic, according to the analysis conducted by Swiss Re Institute.
The study evaluated 120 countries and found that Germany, France, the UK, Canada, and the US ranked among the top 20 in AI preparedness. Surprisingly, trust in AI remained relatively low in these advanced digital economies, with only around a third of respondents in each country expressing understanding and trust in AI. In contrast, those in emerging digital growth markets such as India, Nigeria, Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Argentina demonstrated higher levels of trust in AI.
The analysis, featured in Swiss Re Institute's recent report titled Decoding Digital Trust: A consumer perspective, highlighted the multifaceted nature of digital trust. It encompassed various psychological factors, including cultural and generational attitudes, institutional trust, prevalence of online fraud, and the ease of understanding and utilising technology like AI. The report also explored how technologies like sensors and AI-driven automated decision-making bridged the gap between the real and online worlds.
For the insurance and reinsurance industry, digital trust played a pivotal role since access to data served as a key component for risk analytics and automation capabilities. Pravina Ladva, group chief digital and technology officer of Swiss Re, emphasised the significance of transparency and customer-centricity in building digital trust.
“This really underlines how important it is to be transparent with customers, truly understand their needs and deliver on them,” Ladva said. “The safety, security, and efficiency of online engagements are paramount, especially in the insurance industry where customer relationships are built on trust.”
Rob Burr, CEO of iptiQ, Swiss Re's digital B2B2C insurer, emphasised the need for insurers to prioritise transparency and engage effectively with customers to foster digital trust in the insurance sector. He suggested that insurers should consider their customers' gut feelings and collaborate with them to establish digital trust.
“The key is to leverage innovative technologies that offer seamless customer experiences and make every aspect of insurance as good as humanly possible,” Burr said.
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