The Actuaries Institute has named IAG Data and Algorithmic Ethics Executive Manager Chris Dolman its 2022 Actuary of the Year.

The award is presented to an Actuaries Institute member who has made a “notable contribution to the community” and further advanced the profession.

Mr Dolman’s work has looked at the social impact of data availability and automation in insurance as well as the application of ethics in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

He was commended for his efforts as the Institute Working Group Chair in collaboration with the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to promote anti-discrimination efforts and provide guidance on AI’s role in insurance.

Mr Dolman says AI “appeals to the mathematician” in him but aims to provide human solutions for an evolving industry.

“I like to look into how AI affects the world and what social norms we want to encode in the models we build,” Mr Dolman said.

“We’ve had laws and regulations on discrimination for a long time, but guidance about what discrimination looks like in automated systems is still nascent.”

Mr Dolman is a founding member of the Actuaries Institute’s Data Analytics Committee and part of the General Insurance Practice Committee. He was also previously awarded the 2020 and 2021 Melville All-Actuaries Summit Prize for papers he co-authored.