Cross-firm hub for will serve as the cornerstone of applied innovation, advancing how Province and StoneTurn use AI and advanced technologies to enhance client engagements and operational performance.
Province and StoneTurn today launched the Province Applied Intelligence Lab to continue the growth of custom-developed AI and technology solutions, enhancing its suite of client service offerings and operational capabilities.
Michael Costa, Data Analytics Partner, has been appointed Head of the Province Applied Intelligence Lab, overseeing AI and emerging technology, enabling the firm and its members to best leverage these capabilities to solve the toughest challenges clients face.
“When organizations think about implementing AI, it shouldn’t be a simple top-down mandate or a single large platform stretched to handle all use cases. Like all applications of data science, a solid data foundation and solutions built to meet the needs of the project and audience are what drive adoption and allow end users to derive real value,” said Michael Costa. “That’s what excites me about our Applied Intelligence Lab. We’re not creating a one-size-fits-all chatbot but formalizing our approach in responsibly applying the right technologies, AI or otherwise, at the right times to serve the real needs of clients and our firm.”
The Province Applied Intelligence Lab has a strong track record of driving sustainable business solutions, including:
- Employee Survey Compliance Analysis: When a compliance review required analyzing hundreds of employee surveys — combining Likert-scale responses with open-ended qualitative feedback — the firm deployed a large language model (LLM) to process the full dataset in under an hour, surfacing patterns and sentiment that manual review would have struggled to identify at scale. The AI uncovered a key discrepancy: one respondent’s quantitative responses signaled positive sentiment toward compliance processes, while their open-ended answers told a different story, a nuance that could easily have been missed.
- Cybersecurity Program Evaluation: When a client needed its information security policies cross-referenced against the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, a process spanning dozens of documents in varying formats, the firm deployed a locally hosted LLM to ingest the materials and generate responses to each framework requirement, dramatically compressing the time required to complete the assessment. The AI-generated outputs gave experienced analysts a substantive starting point, with human reviewers validating findings and identifying gaps the model surfaced for further discussion.
- Knowledge Management: When putting teams together for new projects, the firm frequently needs to find relevant prior experience, subject matter expertise, and even understand potential conflicts. AI has been used to enhance these processes, by ensuring the most relevant projects, professionals, and skillsets are considered. This way, the best teams are assembled in the shortest amount of time. Similar technology applications are used by our professionals to scope projects and provide more accurate estimates of timelines and budgets. Together, this works to properly prepare our professionals and best serve our clients.
“As we bring together Province and StoneTurn, one of the things that has excited us most about the future has been the technology capabilities we have at our fingertips, including the Applied Intelligence Lab,” said Paul Huygens, CEO, Province. “We are committed to finding unique solutions for our clients, and AI is a key piece of that commitment. Our team is optimistic about the value the Province Applied Intelligence Lab will bring our clients and our firm.”
“We’ve been fortunate to have strong in-house talent that understands the opportunities data and technology present, and how to leverage those together to mitigate risk,” said Brad Wilson, Managing Partner, StoneTurn. “AI and emerging technologies simply underscore the importance of that skillset. The Applied Intelligence Lab is developing practical approaches for purpose-built solutions, helping us drive the capabilities expected of a large firm, while allowing us to stay nimble and expert-driven on our engagements.”
Learn more about the Province Applied Intelligence Lab.
Meet Michael
Michael Costa
Michael Costa, Partner and Head of the Province Applied Intelligence Lab, leverages data analytics and data science, investigations, complex litigation, and compliance matters. He applies artificial intelligence and advanced analytics […]