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Penny Black’s Social Diary: Meshed’s cut-out; S&P’s sliders

Social Diary

Penny Black is back, sharing the tittle-tattle she overheard at insurance industry events, reviewing the quality of buffets at conferences and giving a thumbs up – or down – to the sector’s social media posts.

AI stand-ins

Despite being 185 years of age, I pride myself on being up-to-date with all the trends and technology, as is necessary for writing this column.

However, I did find myself a little out of my depth reading this LinkedIn post from Jake Wells, co-founder and chief operating officer of Meshed.

As he’s off to get married in Sicily (congrats!), Wells announced his part artificial intelligence, part cardboard cut-out “j-ai-ke”, would be standing in for him during his absence and posting on LinkedIn on his behalf.

The cardboard cut-out bit wasn’t too confounding for me, that’s a hen-do addition I think everyone should incorporate, but I did struggle to imagine that AI could just run a whole social media page while someone is away.

I’m afraid the Insurance Post team may have no excuses for not promoting articles on socials anymore during annual leave.


Penny’s Lunch Box

S&P Global Sliders Penny Black

It’s not everyday I get to enjoy a good breakfast. Sometimes, the pace of life just gets in the way and all I can do is grab a sausage roll from Gregg’s on the way to the office.

But this time, I got to savour this brioche slider with streaky bacon and smoky tomato relish at the S&P Global Ratings Reinsurance Outlook event. 

I’ll dream of that fluffy bun and flavourful relish next time I’m scoffing down a banana on a busy train.


Out of context

“They’re probably going to be dead in 40 years, so you don’t have to worry about them.”

Ian Hughes, CEO and founder of Consumer Intelligence, gives a morbid caveat to a statistic showing 55-65 year olds’ traditional attitude to the future of mobility.

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