From Insurance to Innovation: Jared Bailey’s Journey Through AI and Robotics at Duke

After a decade of working in the insurance and reinsurance industry, Jared Bailey made an extraordinary pivot. Leaving his role as a Senior Data Scientist at Thrivent, Jared decided to go all in on artificial intelligence and robotics, stepping into full-time graduate studies at Duke University with a mission to redefine what’s possible in intelligent systems.

Currently enrolled in Duke’s Master of Engineering in Artificial Intelligence for Product Innovation (AIPI) program and pursuing a second degree in Robotics & Automation, Jared is guided by a clear goal: to design AI-powered systems that don’t just crunch data but interact with the world in meaningful ways.

Real-World Relevance: Why Duke?

Jared’s decision to join Duke stemmed from a desire for more than academic rigor—he wanted real-world application. After visiting campus and engaging with faculty, he was struck by how closely the curriculum mirrored the complex, applied challenges he had faced in industry.

“Duke’s program stood out because of its emphasis on real-world applications rather than purely theoretical study,” Jared explains. “My goal was to transition from traditional statistical modeling into high-impact AI solutions, and Duke provided a path to reach it.”

Prior to Duke, Jared’s decade-long career in insurance gave him a deep well of experience in data wrangling, statistical forecasting, and technical communication. But it also ignited a realization: the future of data modeling lay in AI and machine learning, and he was determined to be at the forefront of that change.

Initially balancing full-time work with part-time study, Jared eventually shifted to full-time academics to fully immerse himself in his dual passions: AI and robotics.

Building a Diverse Technical Toolkit

The AIPI program expanded Jared’s capabilities far beyond traditional modeling. Through hands-on coursework and project-based learning, he mastered machine learning algorithms, language and vision models, and embedded AI deployment strategies. Now equipped with a versatile technical toolkit, Jared is prepared to tackle challenges ranging from autonomous systems to intelligent sensing.

“Each course combined theory with real projects, so I not only learned how the models work—I practiced integrating them into full, deployable solutions,” he shares.

Engineering in Action: Hackathons and Robotics Competitions

Outside the classroom, Jared immersed himself in Duke’s dynamic innovation culture. He co-organized the Duke AI Hackathon for two consecutive years, an intense weekend competition drawing hundreds of participants and showcasing breakthrough ideas. He also joined the Duke Robotics Club, contributing to the electrical and computer science teams. His team’s standout performance—8th place out of 40+ international teams—underscored his ability to merge hardware with software in high-stakes environments.

Eyes on the Future: AI That Moves

With graduation around the corner, Jared is setting his sights on AI roles that blend embedded systems, computer vision, and real-time interaction. His ambition is to develop robots that don’t just process information, but perceive, adapt, and act in real-world contexts.

“I want to take models off the computer screen and embed them into systems that perceive and interact with the physical world,” he says. “That’s where AI becomes truly transformative.”