Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA), the software company empowering customer engagement at the world's leading enterprises, today announced the results of a new survey that revealed how consumers perceive their insurance companies. While the majority are very satisfied with their insurers (59 percent), this does not always equate to customer loyalty – 71 percent said simply receiving a lower price quote ranked as the top reason to change insurers. A Pega-commissioned survey of more than 1,000 US-based consumers revealed just how price-driven they are: 63 percent of respondents ranked price as the most important factor when first selecting an insurer. Curiously, only 13 percent ranked customer service as their top factor, but with so many consumers willing to switch providers as soon as they see a better price, the onus is on insurers to provide the kind of proactive customer service that will give them an edge to secure long term customer loyalty. For insurers to create meaningful customer relationships that encourage long-term loyalty, they need to better understand three key areas surrounding customers' current needs and preferences: Insurers aren't providing experiences to promote loyalty When it comes to insurer satisfaction, there's still room for improvement.

BootstrapLabs, a leading venture capital firm focusing on Applied AI and based in Silicon Valley, announced today the 4th annual Applied Artificial Intelligence Conference will be held in San Francisco on April 18, 2019. The BootstrapLabs Applied Artificial Intelligence Conference (#AAI19) has grown to become one of the top AI events in the U.S. Mentioned in publications such as Forbes, TechCrunch and Fortune, and selected by Business Insider as one of the top 20 AI conferences to attend, the exclusive conference has brought together over 2,000 professionals and is considered by many AI leaders to be the best forum to learn, network and discover the latest Applied AI technologies. The one-day conference will focus on the latest and future impacts of AI applications across a breadth of sectors including Transportation, Logistics, Healthcare, Energy, FinTech, the Future of Work, IoT and Cybersecurity. The conference will take place in downtown San Francisco and will feature keynotes from Artificial Intelligence leaders who will share practical wisdom and methodologies on how to take advantage of AI's powerful potential. Many CTOs, CIOs and AI/ML experts from top tech companies like Facebook, Amazon, Uber, MasterCard, Unity, Airbnb, Linkedin, Intel, Samsung, Tesla, JP Morgan, Comcast, Microsoft, IBM, Walmart and many others, including top AI founders and government officials, have been participating during past conference editions.

PeriGen, an innovator of perinatal early warning systems, today announced that ProMedica, a not-for-profit integrated health care organization serving 30 states, plans to deploy the company's PeriWatch Vigilance, an artificial intelligence-based maternal-fetal early warning system (EWS), in all of its labor and delivery hospitals. Vigilance is designed to help clinicians identify troubling trends earlier and more consistently than manual assessments and creates a common language for nurses and physicians to assess cases. The artificial intelligence-driven technology, developed by PeriGen, is the latest chapter in ProMedica's commitment to lead improvement in Ohio and Michigan's infant and maternal mortality and morbidity rates, which currently rank near the bottom of the nation. The software is designed to be implemented in a matter of weeks and brings an unprecedented level of monitoring to the labor and delivery floor. It does not require replacing any current systems already in place.

Forter, a company that uses machine learning to detect and prevent fraud in online retail transactions, announced today that it has raised $50 million in a series D funding round led by March Capital Partners, bringing its total financing to $100 million. Salesforce Ventures joined the round, along with previous investors including Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Global online retail sales amounted to more than $2 trillion in 2017, and this number is projected to reach more than $4.5 billion by 2021. But as online retail grows, so does online fraud. Account takeover attacks are on the rise, as are high-volume automated "bot" attacks and so-called policy attacks like coupon abuse.

Digital healthcare specialist Babylon has announced plans to invest $100 million to create a multi-disciplinary team dedicated to building next-generation, AI-powered healthcare technologies. The move forms part of a long-term product and service strategy to apply AI to chronic disease management. It builds on recent partnerships with the likes of Tencent, Samsung, Bupa, Prudential, The Gates Foundation, and TELUS. As Babylon scales its operations internationally, it is increasing its focus on chronic conditions – which affect half the US population. Twenty-five percent of the populace in developed countries suffer from mental health issues, while diabetes and anti-obesity treatments cost the UK's NHS an estimated £10 billion and £5 billion each year, respectively.

AI has the thrilling ability to transform a range of businesses. But let's be frank: it's also a beautiful, massive disappointment for many companies. Here's a common trajectory for many AI and data science projects in an enterprise: A company decides to incorporate AI into their business. They spend one to two years searching for AI experts to build a team of solid data scientists, but not necessarily industry experts. The team works for a year or so on a project, only for the company to discover that the project is irrelevant and they need very different people.

Watch the premiere episode of The Dr. Data Show, which answers the question, "What makes machine learning the coolest science?" This new web series breaks the mold for data science infotainment, captivating the planet with short webisodes that cover very best of machine learning and predictive analytics. Click here for more information and to sign up for future episodes of The Dr. Data Show Please note that viewing the video (above) is recommended, since it includes complementary visuals. Also, certain vocal inflections and gesticulations hold meaning. Some of the intented meaning is lost by reading this transcript rather watching the video.

On Monday, IBM announced the launch of Watson Recruitment's Adverse Impact Analysis capability, a feature that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help companies make better, unbiased hires. The tool analyzes an organization's historical hiring data, and identifies instances of bias related to age, gender, race, education, or previous employer, helping HR professionals to root out bias in its hiring trends and avoid it in the future. AI has great promise for HR professionals in general--33% of CHROs said they believe AI will revolutionize the way they do business over the next few years, a recent IBM study found. However, AI will not fully overtake their roles, or those of all other human employees, the study found--65% of CEOs surveyed said that people skills will have a strong impact on their business over the next several years. The average hiring manager receives hundreds of applicants a day for certain positions, and can only spend about 6 seconds on each resume, IBM found.

Base10 Partners today announced the launch of a $137 million fund to invest in early-stage startups that will use AI to change industries by empowering workers instead of automating them out of jobs. The prime directive of the debut fund will be to back companies in industries like real estate, construction, waste management, and logistics -- what managing partner Adeyemi Ajao calls "automation for the real economy" and "solving problems for 99 percent of people." Base10 Partners was created in 2017 by Ajao and cofounder TJ Nahigian, a company spokesperson told VentureBeat in an email. With Ajao as managing director, Base10 is one of the first venture-backed funds with a black managing director to raise more than $100 million in its first fund. Prominent investment funds recently created by people of African descent include the $100 million New Voices Fund from Richelieu Dennis and Arlan Hamilton's Backstage Capital, which raised $36 million earlier this year to back underrepresented founders, particularly black women.

At the meeting, HuiyiHuiying and Intel jointly launched the "Artificial Intelligence Breast Cancer Full Cycle Health Management System" to help screening and diagnosis through artificial intelligence technology. Saying Huo, Wei Sun, Xuejuan Luo and Jiaqi Li were present as representatives of this year's charity star and were awarded the "Pink Ambassador" award. According to the statistics, breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women and in fact, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. The incidence rate has ranked first among female malignant tumors and has become the first killer threatening women's health. "Early screening, Early detection, Early treatment" is essential for women to prevent breast cancer.