Fall 2024 Scholarship Winner: Alexander Charland
The BondExchange Scholarship is an essay contest that seeks to help currently enrolled college students and high school seniors pay for their education by awarding one student per semester $1,000 in financial assistance. The Spring 2025 BondExchange Scholarship recipient is Alexander Charland, a student at SUNY Plattsburgh obtaining a degree in computer science.
Alexander Charland
When asked why obtaining a college degree is important to him, Alexander said:
“Obtaining a college degree for me is not an academic achievement in and of itself; it’s a gateway to real-life impact, particularly in computer science, technology, and agricultural development. I have long been fascinated with technology’s potential for changing lives, and computer science is the platform through which I can actualise real-life ideas. For me, a computer science degree isn’t reading computer codes and computer language; it’s an opportunity to work towards real-life issues, particularly in my interests on agricultural development.
Agriculture has long been society’s backbone, sustaining humanity’s survival through its produce and produce-related items. In recent years, however, the sector experienced its fair share of headaches: depletion of its resources and an ever-growing population in general. It’s a challenge, but one with a silver lining in terms of an opportunity to utilize new, cutting-edge methodologies. Computer technology, particularly computer science, can revamp agricultural practice and make it a cleaner one. I have a specific desire for utilizing data analysis, artificial intelligence, and automation in enhancing agricultural processes, yield, and lessening its footprint in terms of its impact in terms of environment. That’s my dream, and one I believe can become a reality through this degree, and I hope to bridge technology and agricultural development through it.
Throughout my life, I have witnessed technological advancement reach a pace even higher than its integration in traditional industries such as in agriculture. There is a lag in between, and I firmly believe that such a lag opens a tremendous opportunity. I can visualize using algorithms in machine learning to predict weather, utilizing real-time information for irrigated watering, and creating precision farm tools with minimum loss and high efficiency. These are not futuristic, but increasingly, a reality, with computer science and agriculture colliding in a new and exciting intersection. With a computer science qualification, I will have gained the technical expertise to implement such technological advances, and I will make a real contribution in the agricultural field.
I’m most interested in “smart farming,” in which IoT devices, drones, and sensors produce a lot of information in order to allow farmers to make wiser decisions regarding planting and harvesting, watering, and use of fertilizers and pesticides. With such information, farmers can track moisture in soil, track life in a field, and maximize use of water, fertilizers, and pesticides. By utilizing algorithms to interpret such information, we can move from traditional agricultural practice to precision farming, and not only increase yields but reduce loss and impact to the environment, too. What a tremendous contribution such an intervention will make, with a growing population in the world, and an ever-growing challenge to produce enough for all, yet in a manner not detrimental to the planet.
For me, computer science isn’t about getting an education but about transforming industries that will impact society’s future. That intersection between technology and agricultural industries is a new frontier, one in which technology isn’t a luxury but a necessity. In computer science, I don’t learn to join an emerging technology field but learn with tools to contribute meaningfully to an industry that will impact humanity’s future.”
Check out Alexander’s essay below:
Prompt
How will artificial intelligence (AI) affect the insurance industry?
Answer
AI will likely bring a sea change in the insurance industry, from how operations are managed to how customers are serviced and risk assessment and management processes. As AI technology evolves, its impacts are likely to be seen in most facets of the insurance industry, ranging from underwriting to claims processing, fraud detection, and customer service.
The largest impact of AI in the insurance industry will be felt in underwriting. Traditional underwriting is fundamentally a manual process where experts assess risks and determine the terms of a policy. AI, on the other hand, makes the whole process seamless since it analyzes large volumes of data quickly with a high level of precision, compared to what is humanly possible. Machine learning algorithms can analyze risk factors from a wide range of sources, including social media activity, credit scores, and claims history. Such a data-driven approach toward underwriting enables insurers to offer more tailored policies and thereby reduce costs for lower-risk customers while enhancing the overall efficiency of risk evaluation.
AI is going to continue changing the claims process. Claims handling has long represented one of the most burdensome processes for both insurers and their policyholders. AI-powered technologies, such as chatbots or automated claims processing systems, will hugely accelerate this process since they will swiftly analyze the details of the claim and the validity thereof. For instance, image recognition, as part of a claims process for assessing damage to vehicles or properties, will result in faster and more accurate settlement. It will not only improve the customer experience but also make many operations less expensive for insurers.
Another domain where AI is going to make a huge impact is in fraud detection. Insurance-related fraudulent cases are predominant, committed through manipulative acts by thieves for material benefit. Precisely, AI will enable insurers to identify patterns and anomalies in large datasets, which may indicate fraud. Machine learning can flag claims appearing suspicious and enhance accuracy while reducing fraudulent claim incidences. It does not only save money for the insurer but also keeps premiums low for the honest policyholders.
In addition, AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are going to redefine customer service in insurance. Such AI applications can be utilized for 24/7 assistance on frequently asked questions, helping customers through the process of making a claim, or even assisting them in buying a policy. By unburdening human agents from routine queries and tasks, AI enables them to invest time in more complex and high-value-added interactions with customers, which lead to maximum satisfaction.
On that note, it can be concluded that AI is going to bring a sea change in the insurance industry—it will raise efficiency, enhance customer experience, and reduce fraudulent activities. Yet, its adoption has to be properly managed so as not to bring about ethical issues and to make the processes of decision-making more objective and more transparent. The insurance industry embraces all the great opportunities presented by AI, decreasing risks associated with those opportunities as the technology develops further.
