Almost Nowhere

Being an expert can actually make you worse at explaining what you know. Sean Malloy joins Alicia Burke and Max Martinelli to unpack the science of how people actually learn—and why our instincts about explaining, presenting, and studying often work against us. From cognitive load and the danger of “I got it” to why reading your slides can make things harder, Sean offers a different way to think about making complex ideas stick. And with AI changing how quickly we can access information, the conversation turns to what’s still worth learning, what we can outsource, and how AI itself could become a better teaching tool.

AI has had plenty of big weeks. This one felt different. Sergey Filimonov returns to Almost Nowhere for a breaking-news conversation with Alicia Burke and Max Martinelli about a series of developments pushing the boundaries of what AI systems can do—and raising new questions about where they may be headed. They unpack reports of AI agents coordinating, creating hierarchies, and finding their way into external systems; warnings from researchers working on AI alignment; and the latest generation of models that Max and Sergey argue may already meet many traditional definitions of artificial general intelligence. From cybersecurity and recursive self-improvement to jobs, critical thinking, and the increasingly difficult question of what humans can actually control, the conversation explores both sides of a moment when AI appears to be getting dramatically more capable—and much harder to predict.

Autonomous vehicles may sound like a problem for the future, but the technology is already challenging some of the assumptions actuaries use to understand commercial auto risk today. Recorded at the CAS Spring Meeting in New York City, Milliman actuaries Melissa Huenefeldt and Brekk Hayward join Alicia Burke and guest co-host Michael Henk of AKUR8 to explore what vehicle automation means for reserving. They discuss the potential shift from driver liability to product and software liability, the tradeoff between lower claim frequency and higher severity, and what happens to actuarial models when historical experience becomes less representative of the risk ahead. The conversation also explores emerging data sources, reliance on engineering expertise, actuarial professionalism, and why reserving teams may need to rethink which assumptions—and which parts of the past—they can still rely on.

Insurance-linked securities have been part of the reinsurance market for decades. But as alternative capital expands beyond property catastrophe risk, new opportunities—and new complications—are emerging. Recorded live at the CAS Seminar on Reinsurance in Philadelphia, Bill Dubinsky of Gallagher Securities and Michael Leybov of Fermat Capital Management join Alicia Burke and Max Martinelli to explore the growing market for casualty and non-cat sidecars. They break down how these structures work, what attracts investors and insurers to them, and why reporting, servicing, standardization, and liquidity will be critical to the market’s next stage of development. The conversation also looks at what actuaries bring to this evolving market and what it will take for alternative capital to become a more established part of casualty reinsurance.

Jonathan Lim returns to Almost Nowhere one year after his first appearance to answer a simple question: what actually changed? Joined by Alicia Burke and Max Martinelli, Jonathan revisits AI, reinsurance, autonomous vehicles, and emerging technology, separating what has moved from hype to reality from what remains harder than expected. The conversation explores the challenge of operationalizing AI inside insurance companies, changing property and casualty markets, new sources of insurance data, and why the next wave of innovation may create entirely new risks for insurers to understand. From driverless cars and robotics to data centers, nuclear fusion, and the specialized expertise needed to insure what comes next, Jonathan makes the case that the future still belongs to people willing to understand risks before everyone else does.

In this episode recorded at the CAS Seminar on Reinsurance, Nick Klinka, FCAS MBA, discusses how autonomous vehicles are already affecting insurance. He explains differences between commercial and personal AV markets, coverage challenges like product liability and cyber risk, and what actuaries should watch — including regulation, data credibility, and shifting pricing variables. The conversation focuses on practical implications for underwriting, reserving, and product design as autonomy grows in pockets rather than overnight.

In our final episode from RPM in Chicago, Joanna Amorim, COO of ACTEX Learning, joins Alicia Burke and Max Martinelli to ask a bigger question: How do we prepare actuaries for an AI-enabled profession? They dig into the changing role of judgment, how we train the next generation, and why governance and accountability matter even more as AI becomes part of everyday actuarial work.

When is a changing climate actually changing insurance risk—and how do actuaries know? Recorded live at the CAS Spring Meeting in New York City, Alicia Burke and guest co-host Malika Bender sit down with Dorothy Andrews (NAIC) and Nate Luketin to explore one of the most challenging questions facing the profession: how should actuaries incorporate climate attribution science into pricing, catastrophe modeling, and enterprise risk management? The guests explain how attribution science helps distinguish natural variability from measurable shifts in risk, why historical data may no longer be enough for some perils, and what actuaries should ask before relying on emerging climate research. They discuss: What climate attribution science actually measures—and what it doesn't How attribution studies can strengthen actuarial judgment and model governance Why transparency and uncertainty matter as much as predictive accuracy The role of peer-reviewed research, confidence intervals, and model validation How actuaries should evaluate vendor models and climate assumptions Why human judgment remains essential in an era of increasingly sophisticated AI Throughout the conversation, Dorothy and Nate emphasize that the goal isn't to replace actuarial expertise with new models, but to challenge assumptions, improve decision-making, and communicate uncertainty more effectively. For actuaries working in pricing, catastrophe modeling, reserving, or ERM, this episode offers a practical framework for evaluating one of the profession's fastest-evolving areas.

What could you build if coding were no longer the barrier? Alicia Burke speaks with Sergey Filimonov, Head of Applied AI at Akur8, about how vibe coding can help actuaries turn their expertise into working applications, dashboards, and data tools. They discuss why this skill is becoming increasingly valuable, what actuaries can build, and how someone with little or no coding experience can get started. Continue learning at the hands-on iCAS webinar Vibe Coding for Actuaries on Thursday, August 6, from 12:00–1:30 p.m. ET. Register : https://lnkd.in/eReepURJ

Guest: Kevin Brashem Today we’re talking about wildfire risk, getting into what geospatial data actually changes for underwriting, pricing, and model validation when you move past broad territory assumptions and start looking at how fire behaves on the ground.

Devyn McNicoll joins Alicia Burke as our guest host for this episode filmed at the 2026 Spring Meeting.

Recorded live at the 2026 RPM Seminar in Chicago, this episode of Almost Nowhere explores a question that sits at the center of modern actuarial practice: what does pricing sophistication actually mean? While many North American conversations focus on modeling techniques, filing requirements, and implementation challenges, some international markets have pushed much further into demand modeling, elasticity, customer lifetime value, experimentation, and real-time deployment. To understand what that looks like in practice, Alicia Burke and Jeffrey Durham sit down with pricing actuary Piotr Lebiedz, whose experience spans some of Europe's most competitive insurance markets. The discussion covers: Why competition and regulation shape pricing innovation differently around the world What U.S. actuaries can learn from pricing practices in Poland and the UK The real strengths and limitations of GBMs versus GLMs How demand modeling and elasticity can improve business decisions without crossing regulatory lines Why deployment speed may matter more than model complexity The debate around customer lifetime value and whether insurers can truly predict it How AI and agentic workflows could reshape pricing teams in the years ahead Along the way, Piotr challenges the idea that sophistication is simply about building more complex models. Instead, he argues that the most advanced organizations focus on people, processes, governance, and speed—using the right tools for the right problems rather than chasing complexity for its own sake. For actuaries, pricing leaders, and insurance innovators, this conversation offers a rare look inside markets where pricing strategy has become a true competitive weapon.

Recorded live at the 2026 RPM Seminar in Chicago, this episode of Almost Nowhere cuts through the noise surrounding InsurTech, GenAI, and the future of insurance software. Alicia Burke, Max Martinelli, and guest co-host Sergey sit down with Betty Zhu to unpack one of the biggest questions facing carriers today: when should insurers build technology themselves, and when should they buy it? Drawing from nearly a decade inside pricing technology and InsurTech vendors, Betty shares an insider’s perspective on the realities behind flashy demos, AI-driven product claims, vendor evaluations, proof-of-concepts, and the growing pressure created by rapid advances in generative AI. The conversation explores: Why GenAI is making “build vs. buy” harder than ever How carriers can distinguish real expertise from polished demos The hidden risks of in-house AI development and key-person dependency Why distribution, domain expertise, and long-term viability matter more than hype How actuarial workflows may evolve as AI lowers the barrier to building software For actuaries, innovation leaders, and insurance professionals trying to navigate the next wave of AI-enabled transformation, this episode offers a grounded discussion on what creates durable value — and what may disappear as quickly as it arrived.

Recorded live at the 2025 CAS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, this episode of Almost Nowhere explores how Japan’s insurance industry manages some of the most concentrated catastrophe risk in the world. Hosts Alicia Burke and Max Martinelli are joined by Suguru Fujita, Yohei Konishi, Takuro Oyama, and Kenta Ito for a conversation on earthquakes, typhoons, reinsurance structures, catastrophe modeling, public-private partnerships, and the cultural mindset behind resilience in Japan. The discussion dives into how Japanese insurers approach pricing, regulation, AI, claims response, and long-term catastrophe management — and what U.S. actuaries and insurers can learn from a system built around collaboration, preparedness, and recovery.

Climate risk is changing faster than actuarial practice. In this episode of Almost Nowhere , Jim Weiss challenges how actuaries think about responsibility when models, data, and assumptions start to break down. From overlooked casualty impacts to the limits of today’s frameworks, this conversation pushes beyond the usual climate narrative. Plus, what AI means for all of it — and why the real risk might not be what you think. Filmed at the 2026 CAS RPM Seminar in Chicago.

AI is rapidly reshaping how actuaries are trained, hired, and evaluated. In this episode, Alicia Burke and Max Martinelli talk with Charles Johnson—actuary, educator, and founder—about what’s changing across the talent pipeline. From AI-assisted learning to AI-influenced interviews, the gap between high-performing candidates and those relying too heavily on tools is widening. The conversation explores hiring challenges, why traditional interviews fall short, and how hands-on work is becoming the clearest signal of real ability. As the profession evolves, one question stands out: who will adapt—and who will fall behind?

In this episode of Almost Nowhere , we dig into the CAS AI Primer and the problem it was built to solve: a growing divide between actuaries actively experimenting with AI and those keeping their distance. Our guests, part of the CAS AI working group, explain why that gap exists—and why it matters. While some practitioners are already building, testing, and validating AI-driven workflows, others are holding back due to uncertainty, risk, and lack of a clear starting point. Access the Primer: https://www.casact.org/publications-research/research/ai-tools-and-resources

Josh Pyle, Head of Corporate Actuarial, Reinsurance Strategy & ERM at Root Insurance, joins Max Martinelli, Alicia Burke, and surprise co-host Sergey Filimonov for a deep dive into generative AI agents. From governance and regulation to experimentation and business alignment, we unpack where actuaries should be exploring—and where they should proceed with caution. Whether you’re prototyping your first agent or weighing build-vs-buy, this episode brings real-world perspective to a fast-moving space.

Live from the 2025 CAS Annual Meeting, Alicia Burke and Erin Olson sit down with Alp Can to talk climate risk, tipping points, and what actuaries can do when the baseline itself is shifting. From disclosure frameworks to systems thinking to using the Actuaries Climate Index, this episode reframes climate not just as a risk—but as the new context for everything else.

In this crossover episode with Actuarial Review, Sergey Filimonov returns for round three to talk AI hype, hard truths, and what’s actually working. From compute costs and evals to regulatory gaps and sustainability risks, we get into the real impact AI is having on actuaries—and what to watch for next.🎧 Recorded live at the 2025 CAS Annual Meeting.