PM focused on improving public sector performance through Artificial Intelligence

In the build-up to the upcoming 2nd annual UWI Five Islands Artificial Intelligence research conference, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has revealed his intention to improve the delivery of several public sector services through the use of AI.

Speaking on Pointe FM yesterday, the PM laid bare the government’s plans to increase efficiency, laying the groundwork for the use of artificial intelligence in the fields of medical services and education.

“I expect for example, that we’ll be acquiring medical technologies that are driven by AI, and they’re gonna take a significant amount of bandwidth”, the PM said.

“Even the delivery of the pedagogy within our schools, you may find that we’ll be using more smart boards and so on, especially for more complex subjects like math and physics…in so doing, the schools might require ten times the bandwidth than they do currently.”

The Prime Minister reiterated the need for improved internet services regarding these AI upgrades, and how the government’s investment in the CELIA Submarine Cable System plays a crucial role in their facilitation.

“If we were to rely on the traditional supplier of these bandwidth services, it would be cost-prohibitive”, Browne stated.

Even though the PM admitted that it would be very costly to put the infrastructure in place, he still feels the overall improvement of digital connectivity services would be worth it in the end, hinting at decreased costs for residents as well.

“Twenty Million US [dollars] is not a little bit of money for a small island state, and even to maintain the subsea cable, that alone will be significant”, the PM said. “But we still think we can drive down the costs, and increase the bandwidth; even in terms of domestic use, home use and so on.”

Embracing the technology of the day, the PM is intent that the country is not left behind.

Browne states, “The plan is there, we are raising the necessary resources; we are implementing, so this is not just talk.”