Society of Actuaries Podcast: Machine Learning Tools Overview
Practical Analytic Approaches to Healthcare Challenges
Machine learning is a hot topic in healthcare analytics today. Shea Parkes and Anders Larson, two of Milliman’s machine learning experts, started a podcast focusing on the subject for the Society of Actuaries (SOA) in 2015. The latest episode was posted May 1, 2018 and is called “Machine Learning Tools Overview.” In the episode, they discuss the range of tools available to help implement machine learning.
“Tools are anything that helps you get the job done. You should do some planning, you should talk some stuff out. But at a certain point, especially with machine learning, someone is going to need to interface with a computer and get something done.” Shea and Anders discuss a range of tools for machine learning, drilling deeper on Graphical User Interface (GUI) modeling tools such as RapidMiner and KNIME. Many of the prior sessions focused on the concepts and theory, only hinting at specific tools and implementations. This episode kicks off a whole new series that will focus on languages, libraries, frameworks, and cloud providers.
Click here to listen to the latest podcast!
Previous episodes include a 12 part series on machine learning from an actuarial perspective. The episodes start with fundamental concepts, then move on to many of the common machine learning algorithms.
Shea Parkes has been in many different roles in his time at Milliman. Now as a Principal he helps lead PRM Analytics with products that focus on Accountable Care and other Organizations. He also participates in many volunteering opportunities with the Society of Actuaries (SOA), mostly within the SOA’s Predictive Analytics and Futurism division. He served on the council of that division for a term and participated in planning many webinars, conference sessions, and newsletter articles.
Anders Larson is a consulting actuary with the Milliman Indianapolis office. He provides actuarial consulting services to commercial and Medicaid health plans, self-funded groups, and provider organizations.
All the episodes of the podcast can be found on the official SOA page here and you can find it on iTunes!
If you would like to learn more about the podcast and or request topics for discussion email Shea Parkes at [email protected].