00:00Dr. Stephen Shepard, lecturer and consultant at the Arthur Law Jack Global School of Business,
00:08offered his perspective about what artificial intelligence, or AI, could mean for the world of work in Trinidad and Tobago.
00:16When England was going to manufacture and factories, they demonstrated they destroyed the factories
00:21because they thought that these factories and machines were going to take their jobs.
00:25The same thing would happen with AI, it happened with computers. People felt that computers would replace them.
00:31It didn't. It actually created more work. AI will not replace people. It will create the opportunity for people to do higher value work.
00:40During a panel discussion on day two of the 2025 International Finance and Accounting Conference,
00:46which was hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain,
00:53Dr. Shepard acknowledged the concerns that many have about AI.
00:58So trust has to be part of it. Fear is a part of it. People are still fearful that I will lose my job.
01:06If you don't upskill, you will lose your job. But the opportunity is that you can be trained and you can be retrained.
01:14The Minister of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence, Dominic Smith, was also on the panel.
01:20The government, through the ministry and through the leadership of the Prime Minister,
01:24we have said from the start that the vision is taking care of people and making the human element the center part
01:32of the way in which we will conduct the business of the government.
01:36Dr. Shepard recommended a needs assessment to be conducted as he took note of what the Minister of AI said.
01:42In the public service, the mundane tasks that are being done right now will be done by AI,
01:48and the public servants will be free to do more human judgment, which is really where the value added is,
01:55because the public service has to power the private sector.
01:58If you have the public servants bogged down with filling out forms and so on,
02:03then they cannot help the private sector.
02:04So the people side of it is probably the most difficult side.
02:09And, Minister, you have your work cut out.
02:11It's not impossible.
02:12It can be done.
02:14It has been done.
02:15But I'm really happy that you focus on the people side of it.
02:19Minister Smith said the government will be doing its homework.
02:23There's something called the ILA, which will launch in the coming weeks,
02:26in conjunction with UNESCO and the UNGA,
02:33where we're looking at artificial intelligence landscape assessment,
02:39which really is the foundation of any transformative work that will take place.
02:43The minister in charge of AI said those are the foundation pieces of how the government
02:48is beginning to look at public sector transformation.
02:51It is our intention to aggressively pursue the retraining of the public service.
02:57There is an element of behavioral change that will need to happen.
03:01And setting a good vision is important, but then also transforming the mentality of the people.
03:08And so the approach by government has been,
03:10how can not only the government contribute to this transformation,
03:13but how can every person who has a seat in every table also be a part of that transformative process?
03:20The Minister of Public Administration and AI said a key focus is on government e-services,
03:26transforming the way government services are provided,
03:30as the government also wants to embark upon a digital economy.
03:34I'm Jewel Brown with tonight's Tech Talk.
03:37I'm Jewel Brown with tonight's Tech Talk.
03:38I'm Jewel Brown with tonight's Tech Talk.
03:39I'm Jewel Brown with tonight's Tech Talk.
03:49I'm Jewel Brown, Tonight's Tech Talk,
03:51I'm Jewel Brown with tonight's Tech Talk.
03:53I'm Jewel Brown with tonight's Tech Talk.
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