Idiro Analytics takes home CeADAR’s Advancing Trustworthy AI Award

Aug 16, 2024 | News

Idiro Analytics is a data science and AI consultancy specializing in delivering advanced analytics solutions and actionable insights to drive business growth and innovation.

Idiro Analytics has been awarded CeADAR’s Advancing Trustworthy AI award, recognising their significant contributions to Dr Adrian Byrne’s research into the Irish car insurance market. This study, funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, aimed to raise awareness about the newly enacted EU Artificial Intelligence Act by focusing on an example that falls under the “high-risk” category according to the AI Act and which impacts any EU citizen who drives a car. Idiro’s involvement was critical to the successful completion of this study by providing data science capability and computing resource to successfully capture more than 30,000 valid quotes online within ten months – the most ever achieved for a study of this kind.

Such a sample size enabled examination of more complex interactions between key features. This, in turn, enabled the study to unearth critical insights which led to widespread national coverage in the Irish media as well as an invitation to meet with Department of Finance officials, with a remit for the Irish car insurance market, to discuss the study’s findings and the capabilities required to undertake such research. Furthermore, Idiro’s inhouse data journalist helped shape the report that accompanies the analysis demonstrating the value in having someone who can translate complex analysis into layperson language thereby greatly enhancing the reach of this study. As a lasting legacy, both the report and dataset are freely available for all interested parties to download from Idiro’s AI Ethics Centre website.  

This award highlights Idiro’s significant contributions to enhancing our understanding of the EU AI Act as well as raising awareness of the bias detection aspect of the new legislation. Their automation of the mystery shopper process has set a new benchmark for future studies of this kind.

Idiro Analytics supported my Marie Curie Fellowship award from the very beginning and actively helped me write up my successful application. Their CEO, Aidan Connolly, advocates for AI algorithms that not only optimise performance/accuracy but are also unbiased and efficient from an energy use perspective. As such, Idiro were very supportive of me using my fellowship to advance the auditing of algorithms through model explainability and bias detection whereby simpler, more explainable and energy efficient models could be contrast against more complex but accurate “black box” algorithms. My achievements in the area of advancing Trustworthy AI could not have been realised without Idiro’s support and aligned vision. This made working with them a pleasure and a privilege. Our meetings were always fruitful and constructive. Therefore, I’m delighted that CeADAR has acknowledged Idiro Analytics by presenting them with the 2023 Advancing Trustworthy AI award in recognition of their advocacy and support for my Marie Curie Fellowship success.

Adrian Byrne

Dr. Adrian Byrne, is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Career-FIT PLUS Fellow at CeADAR, Ireland’s Centre for AI, and also Lead Researcher of the AI Ethics Centre at Idiro Analytics, CeADAR