Barbados seeks greater say in global AI debate

Barbados is positioning itself to help shape global artificial intelligence policy, but a leading technology consultant has suggested that small island states could be little more than consumers of a technology whose infrastructure and development they do not control.

Consultant Steven Williams appeared to set a low bar of expectations for Barbados hosting the second in-person meeting of the United Nations’ Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence next month.

While the government views the meeting as an opportunity to influence one of the world’s most pressing technological debates, Williams said the region must first confront its limited role in developing the technology.

He told Barbados TODAY: “I would like them to cover the impact of artificial intelligence on small island states who do not have, to my mind, the level of resources and the traction at a high level.”

Caribbean countries have traditionally been users and adopters of technology rather than creators, said Williams. 

“Our small economies have been influenced by it, but they have not really been drivers of it.”

Williams said that reality becomes even more significant as AI development becomes increasingly dependent on infrastructure, computing power and access to critical minerals.

“We don’t develop the infrastructure, meaning that the chips, and we don’t even have, like Africa, the minerals that drive the technology,” he said.

His concern is that the Caribbean could once again find itself consuming technology developed elsewhere, while having limited control over the data, intellectual property and economic benefits generated by it.

“If everything is moving to an AI format that is delivered in the cloud, what actual intellectual property and contributing factors do small island states play to make sure that the economies can participate meaningfully?”

He said the region should be realistic about its influence.

“I think for us to be concerned about something that we have no say in, is one where you know if you have no control over it, you just have to do the best you can to navigate it. 

“We’re not at the table concerning hardware [and] we’re not at the table concerning the development of it as a frontier model.”

Williams recalled attending the Caribbean Telecommunications Union’s AI conference in Trinidad in July, where he said a map showing levels of AI use around the world highlighted the Caribbean’s limited participation.

“If you took that to a stage where if people that are alive are using AI on a map, it looks as if your region is not alive.”

Still, Williams said the region should not simply stand aside.

“We can share our concerns as a region that will be impacted one way or the other, but our job is to monitor, influence the best way we can, but we have no way to call shots in this era,” he said.

But Technology Minister Jonathan Reid said Barbados intends to do more than watch from the sidelines.

Reid said: “We don’t want to be a bystander in the conversation of the world’s most prescient topics. We want to be an active participant and a thought shaper.”

The minister suggested AI presents a major opportunity for a small country such as Barbados to boost productivity and expand what individuals and businesses can achieve.

“In our context, we see AI as this once-in-a-generation opportunity for a small country to significantly advance on its productivity and advance on its capability in a way that ten years ago we couldn’t have imagined.”

He pointed to the growing ability of young people, small businesses and professionals to use AI tools to perform tasks that would previously have required considerably more resources.

But Reid said the technology must ultimately be judged by its impact on people.

“One of the things that we have to always be mindful of is the human impact. 

“We have to be concerned about how is it benefiting the average person’s life.”

Barbados would carry that message into the November meeting, arguing that AI must be developed alongside safeguards against its potential harm, Reid said. 

“This tool has to be regulated and designed in a way that good is always done in people’s lives and then guardrails and measurements against negative fallout and impact.”

(SB)