(Barbados Today) – 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.”
