Why I’m working with Lemonade

I’m excited to share that, in addition to my work at Google, I’m joining Lemonade as the company’s AI Ethics and Fairness Advisor, to help build the future of Insurance.

The company has already become well-appreciated for its seamless & delightful user experience and commitment to giving back to the community. In fact, Lemonade is a B-Corp! But I believe (and so does Lemonade) that more work remains to ensure that the true future of insurance is one where opportunity is available, equitably, to everyone. Where trust is built with every customer by putting fairness, privacy, and transparency at the forefront.

See, while insurers don’t explicitly use racial or other demographic characteristics, the insurance industry has had a long history of red-lining and concerns of discriminatory treatment in both pricing and the way claims are investigated and paid out. In many ways, this isn’t surprising. Insurance is an industry whose central focus is to predict and price risk. And if we’re not careful, this approach can easily encode years of systemic bias, especially with AI.

My work at Lemonade won’t be just about understanding ML models (though that is a key component), but also about helping to lead a broader culture shift in the two industries Lemonade straddles: Tech & Insurance. This can’t be done by us, at Lemonade, alone, and we’ll be looking to many experts and partners to drive this shift forward, together!

Daniel has shared some of his thoughts in the past, and I’m looking forward to working with him, Shai, and the entire Lemonade team to bring this vision forward through Lemonade’s product, models, and advocacy. Stay tuned for more :)