00:00Trinidad and Tobago continues to push for digitization and artificial intelligence,
00:05in part through the creation of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and AI.
00:10The integration of AI into the public service has begun,
00:13and AI educational tools have been given to Form 1 students via their laptops.
00:19For developing countries which embrace the digital age, the possibilities are far-reaching.
00:24The evidence of this was ever-present as China just wrapped up a five-day event
00:29which began on September 23rd.
00:31We're here in Hangzhou, Jijian Province, China, for the launch of the fifth global digital trade expo.
00:37Now this is said to be China's only national-level, international and professional expo
00:43focused solely on the digital trade.
00:47One of the themes here today, meet the AI future.
00:51So what does that look like?
00:53Well, machines that can help you out around the house, from cleaning to preparing meals,
00:57and even giving you some artwork in the process.
00:59Some of them are interactive, and can undertake jobs like teaching or training your staff.
01:05Also launched a few weeks ago in China, are these lifelike-looking robots,
01:09with a starting sale price of around 120,000 Chinese RMB, which is approximately the same in TT dollars.
01:27But the advancements that are coming to the digital world are way more meaningful and valuable than that.
01:35For instance, China's Meteorological Administration is using MAZU, an AI-powered meteorological early warning multi-hazard system.
01:43It is being supported by the World Meteorological Organization.
01:47For countries with unpredictable weather events, technologies like these can be a game-changer towards more sustainable development.
01:55Nepal has already received a customized system.
01:58Then there is this machine, again AI-powered, able to assist in the breeding of crops, genome analysis,
02:05and early pest detection, among other crucial agricultural functions.
02:09This one retails for around 10,000 U.S. dollars.
02:14China has also implemented smart medicine, where AI is integral in assisting in patient care,
02:19while also giving more autonomy to patients through self-service.
02:23Nanotrap is one of the companies here at this digital expo.
02:26Now, they have two chips.
02:28One is implanted within the brain, and that one is being experimented on on animals,
02:33and the other is implanted behind the eye.
02:36Now, we're told that that surgery has been done on three patients thus far.
02:41What it does, it allows people who cannot see to be able to get an eyesight.
02:47Brian, public relations director of the company, says it was done at public hospitals,
02:52including on one patient who lost her sight at the age of seven.
02:56She was implanted at this chip in June this year, and after one month,
03:09we opened this equipment, and you can see the world and you can write down the Chinese word.
03:19The technology took two decades to develop.
03:21In short, it works through a camera on a pair of glasses that captures the images
03:26and translates them to the implanted chip.
03:29If the second experiment pans out accordingly,
03:32even people without an eyeball would be able to have some type of vision.
03:36But China's premier Li Qiang perceives that the danger to real beneficial advancement in the digital world
03:43lies in a widening gap between the rich and the poor.
03:46According to him, tariffs and other trade barriers serve as a further impediment
03:51including to people like farmers in rural areas who would have otherwise had access
03:56to digital platforms to sell to a wider market.
03:59Addressing the massive gathering at the launch of GDTE 2026,
04:04Primeli said, quote,
04:05The conspiracy of authoritarianism and conservatism is still spreading around the world.
04:11Some countries have put digital foreign trade restrictions on their digital products.
04:16Some countries are engaged in data flow, distribution and small circles, end quote.
04:23Primeli went further, calling it a power play by some countries who seek to increase the status of their flag.
04:30This, he stated, has regrettably suppressed the digital market
04:33and negatively impacted the new economic power that has emerged.
04:38China's premier said, quote,
04:39The international community should firmly promote a cooperation of digital trade,
04:44promote the connectivity of digital infrastructure,
04:47strengthen standards, connect, recognize and promote sustainable cooperation in various markets, end quote.
04:55Without that, China warns that it is the slower developing nations
04:59and the vulnerable people in them
05:01who will suffer the most amid this rapidly advancing digital era.
05:05Reporting from Hangzhou, Jijiang, China, Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
