Pro Gradu Award to Zamzam Elmi
This year’s recipient of the Finnish Centre for Pensions’ Pro Gradu Award is Zamzam Elmi, a Master of Social Sciences graduate. Elmi’s Master’s thesis examines how pension insurance professionals view the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the assessment of disability pensions in Finland. Each year, the Finnish Centre for Pensions awards the prize to an outstanding Master’s thesis on a pension-related topic.
The thesis, submitted to the University of Helsinki, examines how pension insurance professionals perceive the potential use of AI in the assessment of disability pensions in Finland. Through discussions with focus groups, interviews and surveys, Zamzam Elmi investigated professionals’ constructions of AI’s role in their expert work practices.
”AI’s role in expert work practices is a topical and important subject”
The candidates for the Pro Gradu Award were assessed by FASF actuary and board professional Hillevi Mannonen. In her view, Elmi has addressed a highly topical and important subject with a convincing academic approach. The thesis offers valuable insights into the practical application of AI in expert work.
Mannonen notes that Elmi’s thesis can provide a useful basis when considering the practical implications of AI and when preparing internal guidelines. She adds that the disability pension process is particularly well suited as the focus of the thesis.
”It’s particularly important to recognize the significance and role of the expert evaluation when preparing and implementing AI-assisted working methods and processes. Professional judgement is not disappearing. Rather, AI is expected to provide the information needed to support decision-making more effectively and efficiently”, Mannonen explains.
Award to a distinguished thesis
The Finnish Centre for Pensions’ Pro Gradu Award is presented each year to a thesis approved by a Finnish university during the previous calendar year. The award recognizes a thesis on a pension-related topic that is of a particularly high standard. The prize is worth €2,000.
Zamzam Elmi’s Pro Gradu thesis: Between Expertise and Algorithm : A Qualitative Exploration of Future AI Integration in Pension Insurance Decision-Making
