At the 54th Annual General Assembly of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) held at the Royalton Hotel in Antigua, regional leaders discussed the potential impact and benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The event, which took place from August 14 to 16, was attended by numerous media and business professionals from the Caribbean, including CDB President Dr Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon, who delivered the keynote address. Dr Leon highlighted the need for media houses to prepare for the impact of AI on industries, identify opportunities for upskilling to different areas, and determine which tasks are best left for AI, such as research in digitized news libraries.
He stressed that we should not be afraid of AI’s growing importance but instead boldly accept and incorporate it into our daily lives. This can be achieved by using human ingenuity, analysis, and purpose to add value to AI’s output, creating a win-win situation. CBU President and Deputy CEO of the RJR/Gleaner Communications Group, Dr Claire Grant, emphasized the importance of managing the use of AI to protect facts and avoid the spread of misleading information.
She expressed concerns about using “fake imagery” created using AI, which could sway elections, disrupt the stock market, or scam regular people out of their hard-earned money. Dr Grant explained that addressing these issues is a new objective for the global media community, and one the CBU is committed to taking on. Antigua and Barbuda’s Acting Prime Minister and Attorney General, Steadroy Benjamin, and Information & Communication Technologies Minister, Melford Nicholas, are also scheduled to address the CBU’s Annual General Assembly alongside the aforementioned speakers.
The impact of recent advances, such as AI, has significant implications for the business of media, both public and private. Misinformation and disinformation are significant issues, and while much work has been done to build capacity in media information and literacy, the battle is far from over.
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