PM Gaston Browne (Facebook)
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.”
Is starlink an option?
Always love a prime minister who can keep his head on the straight path no matter what he may be growing through. He is all about development
It’s nice that the PM is keen to keep up with latest technologies. No doubt he is just trying to follow along with whatever all the world leaders are currently focused on. But, honestly, the current AI revolution is just wild and unsettling. Countries haven’t even yet managed to get basic life sustaining development in place such as consistent water and healthy food for all but are rushing to invest in this unproven technology. Plans of universal basic income and the elimination of regular work are being floated around by the political and technological class but no one has bothered to consult the average Joe about whether that is how we want our lives to be. This like Covid 2.0. World leaders are forcing things on the population that no one asked for. Just like the vaccine situation, those who want to overturn their way of life to AI should be free to choose that but others who prefer a different path should be free to choose that as well. I am not opposed to some use of AI as a tool, but this rush to turn the world system upside down overnight will likely lead to a lot of unintentional side effects and calamities. Mark my words.
This should be very interesting and I need to witness that improvement for myself cause 90 percent of public sector workers LAZY