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  • 5 hours ago

A consultant says that Artificial Intelligence "will not replace people" but recommends people upskill so that their fears of losing their jobs to A.I. are not realised.

This, as the Minister in charge of administering A.I. in the Public Service says an artificial intelligence landscape assessment is to be conducted soon.

Here's Juhel Browne with Tech Talk.

Transcript
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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