Insurer’s Use of AI to Study Claims Provokes Uproar After Tweet

  • Technology seeks ‘non-verbal cues’ by clients: deleted tweet
  • AI doesn’t deny claims or cancel policies, company says
Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Lemonade Inc., an internet-based insurer, said that it doesn’t use artificial intelligence to deny claims or coverage based on a person’s characteristics after a “poorly worded tweet” drew heated criticism online.

Clients who submit claims are asked to make videos explaining what happened, and in its tweet the New York-based company said those recordings are analyzed for fraud by artificial intelligence to “pick up non-verbal cues that traditional insurers can’t.” That led to an outpouring of tweets accusing the company of discrimination based on race and other traits.