ARTIFICIAL Intelligence (AI) refers to a situation in which human intelligence is being replaced by ‘technological’ intelligence. This new dispensation is fraught with all kinds of challenges, but it also provides for new and exciting opportunities.

This is why it is so important for the technology to be managed in a manner that optimizes production and productivity levels, while at the same time minimizing its potentially harmful impact on the labour market and human creativity.

At a more fundamental level, artificial intelligence leverages computers and other smart appliances in problem-solving and decision-making skills, which is critical for the success of business operations. It also allows for machines to ‘learn’ from experiences and make inputs to the production process in a human-like manner.
Not so long ago, there was industrial action in Hollywood after actors felt threatened by the use of artificial intelligence in terms of salary reductions and its impact on studio operations and streaming services.

And only recently President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, during an address at the opening session of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) congress urged labour leaders to take measures to mitigate the impact of artificial intelligence on human labour.

According to President Ali, production is becoming increasingly technologically-driven through the use of digitalization and artificial intelligence and unions need to adjust to this changing dispensation in order to protect the rights of workers.
The fact is that technology is an indispensable element in the production process, especially in terms of boosting productivity levels and enhancing competitiveness.
During the early stages of the industrial revolution, workers in Britain blamed machines for taking away jobs and some went so far as to destroy machines and plants out of frustration and anger.

The application of technology in the production process is inevitable and a necessary element for survival in an increasingly competitive environment. The only way to confront this challenge is to prepare the labour force to become more responsive to the emerging challenges of digitalization and artificial intelligence.
According to President Ali, legislation will soon be introduced in Guyana to manage the application of digitalization and artificial intelligence.

The PPP/C administration has already introduced coding in the school system, designed to prepare children and young people to meet the challenges of this digital age. This is facilitated under a recent agreement signed between the Guyana Government and the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, the use of smart classrooms will make it possible for children to become more competitive in the changing technological environment which is becoming increasingly data-driven.

Like it or not, we now live in an information age in which competencies in terms of managing information — sourcing, analysing, interpreting and transmitting — will be the new determinants of success.

The PPP/C administration must be commended for its visionary and forward-looking initiatives in preparing our young people to take advantage of this emerging digital environment. A new developmental paradigm is in the making, one that is technologically driven and which potentially poses new challenges to human intelligence.
As the country advances along the path of modernization, intelligence, both human and artificial, will play an increasingly critical role in terms of a developmental matrix which will allow for Guyana to be at the cutting edge of this new and exciting global technological environment.