Business

Jamaicans among expert speakers at international AI conference

Loop News

September 27, 2022 4:19 PM ET

3 mins read

Two highly-respected Jamaican leaders in the digital, media and regulatory spaces will be among 40 international experts addressing the “3rd Annual Artificial Intelligence for Information Accessibility (AI4IA)” Conference on Wednesday, September 28. 

The conference will raise a range of issues, including artificial intelligence (AI) localism, the use of AI to overcome disabilities, ethical digital transformation, the intersection of AI, Art and Creativity, and AI, Law and Ethics, in commemoration of the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). 

Participants from such countries as India, Singapore, Kuwait, South Korea, France, Finland, Columbia, Switzerland, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Chile and South Africa will hear presentations from Cordel Green, Executive Director of the Broadcasting Commission and Dr Ricardo Anderson, academic and consultant in research and development of intelligent systems.

But maybe the most anticipated speakers will be two children: 11-year-old Carter Bonas from Florida, who founded Spectrum Golf Apparel, under the brand Spectrum Golf, together with Spectrum Vitamin Water at age 10.  

Considered to be ‘highly functioning on the Autism Spectrum Scale’, he started a non-profit organisation to offer free golf lessons to youth. 

The other child speaker will be Singapore high school student Winston Ng, who co-founded  Finute, a metaverse technology company that develops immersive virtual experiences. Ng works with multinational corporations, SMEs and government agencies to bring their ideas to life.

Commenting on the purpose of the conference, Green said: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly all around us and very much influencing what we read, see, hear, think about, and do. But, AI is a tool. It is not our saviour or master”. 

Green, who also serves as Chairman of the UNESCO IFAP Working Group on Information Accessibility, reasoned that AI should be used to preserve democratic and cultural traditions, not work against them.

He noted that AI deployment and access must consider the rights of the most vulnerable, particularly children. 

“This is a conference for regular people, so we can all understand the power of AI – for good or bad.”

He said with knowledge societies can then insist on ethical AI development that comports with freedom of expression, respects the value of preserving free choice, enables universal access to information, enhances the quality of journalism and enhances cultural and linguistic diversity. 

Green added that AI should be applied in a way that respects the right to privacy while mitigating against disinformation and consumer manipulation.

The digital expert, however, cautioned that the use of AI should not happen in an environment of low levels of digital literacy, information inequity and an enormous divide between digital elites and ordinary citizens.