Technology Investment Benefits

As GenAI becomes more ubiquitous, research alarmingly shows that women are using these tools at lower rates than men across nearly all regions, sectors, and occupations.   A recent paper from researchers at Harvard Business School, Berkeley, and Stanford synthesizes data from 18 studies covering more than 140k individuals worldwide.   Their findings:   • Women are approximately 22% less likely than men to use GenAI tools • Even when controlling for occupation, age, field of study, and location, the gender gap remains • Web traffic analysis shows women represent only 42% of ChatGPT users and 31% of Claude users   Factors Contributing the to Gap:   - Lack of AI Literacy: Multiple studies showed women reporting significantly lower familiarity with and knowledge about generative AI tools as the largest gender gap driver. - Lack of Training & Confidence: Women have lower confidence in their ability to effectively use AI tools and more likely to report needing training before they can benefit from generative AI.   - Ethical Concerns & Fears of Judgement: Women are more likely to perceive AI usage as unethical or equivalent to cheating, particularly in educational or assignment contexts. They’re also more concerned about being judged unfairly for using these tools.   The Potential Impacts: - Widening Pay & Opportunity Gap: Considerably lower AI adoption by women creates further risk of them falling behind their male counterparts, ultimately widening the gender gap in pay and job opportunities. - Self-Reinforcing Bias: AI systems trained primarily on male-generated data may evolve to serve women's needs poorly, creating a feedback loop that widens existing gender disparities in technology development and adoption.   As educators and AI literacy advocates, we face an urgent responsibility to close this gap and simply improving access is not enough. We need targeted AI literacy training programs, organizations committed to developing more ethical GenAI, and safe and supportive communities like our Women in AI + Education to help bridge this expanding digital divide.   Link to the full study in the comments. And a link also to learn more or join our Women in AI + Education Community. AI for Education #Equity #GenAI #Ailiteracy #womeninAI

🌟 The ground just shifted beneath the world of risk! And most leaders missed it. Here is why...💫 Did you see this? Last week, Munich Re began insuring AI model errors for mortgage lenders. While this certainly demonstrates that AI is becoming a more prominent emerging risk in our lives, it also signals a seismic shift: the #AgenticFrontier is no longer a theoretical future—it has arrived. For years, we've talked about transformation. Yet Boston Consulting Group (BCG)'s data shows a stark reality: while 78% of P&C insurers are “dabbling” with AI in the claims process, only 4% have successfully scaled it. Imagine what this means across the insurance operations and the overall enterprise. The rest are caught in the “pilot trap,” a sinkhole for laggards. The gap between the talkers and the doers has become a chasm. The 4% are fundamentally redesigning their businesses around AI. This is no longer about whether you'll embrace #agenticAI. It's about how you'll lead the transformation. For corporate leaders, the mandate is clear. For founders, the 18-month enterprise sales cycle is now optional for those who can provide de-risked, insured solutions. Here is the playbook for those ready to move from ambition to action: 1️⃣ Stop the science projects. Pick one end-to-end process—claims, underwriting, finance, customer support—and commit to a complete, AI-driven redesign. The real ROI is in redesigning the unglamorous, high-impact back-end operations, not bolting AI onto broken workflows. 2️⃣ De-risk your transformation. AI error insurance is now a board-ready mandate. Use it to turn AI from a high-risk experiment into a scalable, enterprise-grade asset. 3️⃣ Reframe the protection gap as an innovation mandate. The same creativity used to insure algorithms must be turned toward insuring humanity against Nat Cat/ extreme weather risks and other systemic risks. This is the largest market opportunity of the next decade. The uninsurable world is a choice, not a necessity. The leaders of 2026 will be those who use the tools of the agentic frontier to rewrite the rules of risk. What is the most fundamental “gap” you see in your organization’s AI strategy right now? Please share... Is it the tech, the talent, or the trust? And enjoy this week's newsletter. 👏🏽 #CapacityGap #TrustbyDesign

When did you last change your insurance for a life change, not a renewal date? You might change your job. Maybe your city. Maybe your responsibilities at home. But your insurance? Probably stayed the same... That’s the gap you don't notice... Life keeps updating. Policies don’t. At 25 you’re renting. At 30 you’re buying a home. At 35 you’re thinking dependents, health cover, bigger responsibilities. Your risk changes, but the policy often stays stuck in the “𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮”. This is why 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 makes sense. Coverage that updates as life updates. With AI, insurers can detect life events, recommend the right upgrade, adjust premiums, and let customers update coverage in one click. Do you know the best part? No paperwork needed. And the business impact is hard to ignore. Customer lifetime value can go up 3X. Churn can drop by 60%. Acquisition costs can fall by 40% because upsells reduces the pressure to keep chasing new customers. #SaaS #AI #CustomerExperience #Fintech #ProductInnovation

The Union Budget’s announcement to develop dedicated rare earth and #criticalmineral corridors across #TamilNadu, #Kerala, #Odisha, and #AndhraPradesh comes at a decisive moment for India and the global economy. This initiative is not merely about mining - it is about strategic autonomy, clean industrial growth, and long-term economic resilience. Today, China controls over 60% of global rare earth mining and nearly 85% of processing capacity, creating significant supply-chain vulnerabilities for clean energy, electric mobility, electronics, defence systems, and advanced manufacturing. In contrast, countries such as the United States, Australia, and the European Union are aggressively building domestic capabilities, strategic reserves, and recycling ecosystems to reduce dependence on concentrated supply sources. Rare earth elements are essential inputs for EV motors, wind turbines, solar technologies, semiconductors, batteries, defence electronics, and medical equipment. As India targets large-scale EV adoption, renewable energy expansion, and domestic semiconductor manufacturing, secure access to critical minerals becomes non-negotiable. The proposed corridors—spanning mining, processing, R&D, and manufacturing create an integrated ecosystem rather than fragmented interventions. Equally important is the opportunity to supplement primary mining with secondary sources. Estimates indicate that India’s e-waste alone could yield nearly 1,300 tonnes of rare earth elements, while mine tailings and industrial waste offer additional recovery potential. Last year’s ₹1,500 crore allocation for extracting critical minerals from waste streams was an important start, but scale, coordination, and regulatory clarity are now essential to unlock meaningful impact. The regulatory framework must evolve accordingly. E-waste Management Rules should clearly classify critical minerals as high-value strategic resources, not residual waste. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks must go beyond compliance and actively incentivise recovery, recycling, and reuse. At the same time, India’s large informal recycling sector—currently operating without safety nets must be formalised through technology transfer, skilling, access to finance, and transition incentives, ensuring both environmental protection and dignified livelihoods. From an economic and urban governance perspective, the implications are significant. Rare earth corridors can catalyse clean manufacturing clusters, generate high-skill employment, and reduce import dependence. Cities and industrial regions will benefit from value-added manufacturing, innovation ecosystems, and circular-economy models that align growth. If executed with coordination and clarity, this initiative can deliver multiple dividends: lower emissions, reduced waste, enhanced competitiveness, skilled job creation, and greater self-reliance.

India Inc.’s demand for cyber insurance is rising sharply, Tanya Pandey and Shilpy Sinha report for The Economic Times. Enquiries have jumped 20–25% as the DPDP Act raises penalties to ₹250 crore and pushes companies to prioritise data-breach protection. Less than 30% of eligible firms have coverage, leaving most financially exposed, the report says. The compliance burden is also growing. Mandatory breach notifications within 72 hours, annual audits, and the appointment of data protection officers are adding recurring costs for significant data fiduciaries. Coverage is also expanding to cloud, SaaS and system-failure risks. “This financial impact is only going to go up after this regulation. Earlier, cyber insurance was seen as a good-to-have cover. Now it has become a necessity,” says Neha Anand, VP and Head of Cyber at Prudent Insurance Brokers. AI-driven attacks such as deepfakes and automated phishing are also accelerating adoption. Protection gaps remain large for SMEs and MSMEs, despite over two million reported incidents in 2024, according to CERT-In. India’s cyber insurance market, valued at ₹500–₹600 crore, is expected to grow at 25–30% annually. Claims have touched ₹175 crore, and traditional ₹10–20 crore limits are proving inadequate under the new regime, the report adds. How will this move impact the cyber insurance sector? Share your thoughts in the comments section. Source: https://lnkd.in/dY6T_msr ✍ Dhritiman Deb 📸 Getty Images #CyberInsurance #CyberSecurity #DPDPAct #CyberLaws #DataProtection

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) just put out their 2026 P&C insurance AI report and buried the headline in a single stat: only 38% of P&C insurers are realizing AI value at scale across core workflows. The rest are running pilots. Fragmented ones. This is the gap that's going to define the next five years of insurance. Not whether you've adopted AI — everyone has a tool somewhere — but whether you've rebuilt how the work actually happens. BCG calls them AI-first companies. The ones reimagining underwriting, claims, and distribution end to end, not layering AI on top of processes built for a different era. The ones treating their data foundation as something that compounds, not a project that ships. What strikes me is how much this mirrors what we see in embedded insurance. The carriers and distributors pulling ahead aren't the ones who added a quote button to an app. They're the ones who rethought the entire distribution model from the ground up — API-first, outcome-driven, embedded at the point where the customer already is. The window to lead here is narrowing. BCG says it plainly: early movers are already pulling ahead, and the gap is widening. The insurers who win won't be the ones who moved fastest on a pilot. They'll be the ones who decided to actually transform. Report link: https://lnkd.in/gkP9kaHm #embeddedinsurance #insurtech #AIininsurance #insurancetech #pcinsurance

One common question I hear often is: how can we effectively scale Gen AI tools across a large enterprise so our professionals can use them in their day-to-day work?   Our journey with Deloitte’s internal Sidekick Gen AI tool (which just crossed over 110M uses!) is a good illustration of what changes when Gen AI tools move from experimentation to everyday work (https://deloi.tt/4am10cb).   What made the difference for us was focus. Sidekick led with real workflows and shifted from individual productivity wins to shared capability. Reusable skills allowed good patterns to spread, turning one person’s know-how into organizational assets. Over time, it reduced reinvention and improved consistency across teams.   Trust mattered just as much. Governance, sourcing, and quality expectations were embedded from the beginning, not bolted on later. That made responsible use easier to scale without slowing teams down.   And finally, intentional adoption. Clear guidance, dedicated change support, and a strong ambassador network helped people learn when to use Gen AI and how to use it effectively.   When Gen AI is designed around how work is done and supported by governance, trust, and real change enablement, it stops being just a tool and starts becoming a real operating muscle. 

Australia’s rare earths deal with the US feels like “the lucky country” 2.0. Only this time we have the chance to act like the smart country, not just the lucky one. Australia has just signed a multi billion-dollar agreement with the US President Donald Trump to build out rare earth and critical minerals processing onshore and reduce dependence on China (which currently controls up to 90 per cent of global refining capacity). These minerals are not just commodities. They are the foundation of future technology and industrial power. They are required for defence systems, AI hardware, smart phones, semiconductors, renewable energy, electric vehicles, quantum computers, space technology and the next generation of advanced manufacturing. Key parts of the deal include: 💰$8.5 billion to expand mining, processing and refining in Australia, including $1 billion in fast-tracked investment within six months. 🇺🇸 US financing and strategic backing to integrate Australian minerals directly into American defence and clean energy supply chains. 💸 The agreement includes joint ventures, US-led and Australian-led projects to rapidly scale capability, backed by government and private investment delivered through guarantees, loans and equity stakes. This is not just about extracting minerals. It puts Australia in position to help build the technologies that will define the next industrial age of tech innovation and economic power. It can move us from being a supplier of raw materials to a nation capable of shaping global technological development. Yes, it is a smart strategic win. But we should also acknowledge timing. China has been tightening export restrictions on rare earths, using them as geopolitical leverage. That created an opening and Australia stepped through it at exactly the right moment. When Australia was labelled “the lucky country,” it was not meant as praise. It suggested our prosperity came from resource luck and geography rather than national strategy. This deal gives us a chance to change that. To build capability onshore. To add value to our resources. To become an essential innovation leader, not just a quarry. Let’s not just dig it up and ship it off for once. Let’s refine, process and own the future industries built on these materials (and Anthony Albanese, if you’re listening, let’s also channel that value into a sovereign wealth fund that benefits every Australian!). Is this the moment we stop being just the lucky country and start becoming the smart country? I hope so. #auspol #rareearths #advancedmacturing #AustralianInnovation #FutureIndustries https://lnkd.in/gSpxT6Dc

The cost of funding the energy transition may seem high, but today's investments will be critical in preventing far greater expenses down the line.   In 2024, investment in the energy transition reached a record US$2.1 trillion, but global energy transition investment needs to average $5.6 trillion each year from 2025 to 2030, according to BloombergNEF.   At first glance, that number seems staggering. But when you compare it to the long-term costs of climate change—impacting health, business, and society—it becomes clear: the cost of inaction is far greater.   When thinking about sustainability, it’s easy for organizations to focus solely on costs. But, in reality, investing in energy efficient technologies and achieving energy independence is investing in a saving.   In fact, a recent survey from PwC found that investments are paying off: https://lnkd.in/dKNaxhzK   ✅ 1 in 3 CEOs report that climate-friendly investments made over the last five years have resulted in increased revenue. ✅ Two-thirds say investments have either reduced costs or had no significant cost impact.   With AI and emerging tech accelerating efficiency, the case for investment is only getting stronger. Sustainability isn't just about the environment —it’s about doing smarter business.   Let’s discuss: Have you seen a return on investment with your companies climate investments?   #Sustainability #EnergyTransition #EnergyEfficiency #Electricity40 #LifeisOn

Energy efficiency isn’t just about reducing costs; it’s about building resilience and competitive advantage in a volatile energy world. The latest IEA report shows a paradox: global investment in efficiency is rising, yet progress is only 1.8% annually, less than half the COP28 target of 4%. This gap is a massive opportunity for businesses ready to act. Efficiency is no longer an operational detail; it is a boardroom priority. Organizations that treat it as strategic infrastructure, not overhead, are gaining margins competitors cannot match. Companies implementing energy management systems achieve 11–30% savings in their first year. Industrial motor upgrades boost performance by 40%. Heat pumps cut process energy demand by 75%.  Payback periods run 3 to 5 years for buildings and under 10 for industry. Emerging markets like India and Africa are embedding efficiency into growth strategies, while mature markets offer advanced tech and financing ecosystems. Success means adapting to local dynamics. Digital intelligence is transforming energy audits into real-time decision tools. Efficiency is now risk management, resilience, and a signal of maturity to investors. The companies that act today will define competitive advantage for the next decade.  Let’s accelerate together.