THE Diaspora Unit within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday launched the “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Agent (Jessie),” which aims to transform the way the country communicates and delivers customer services to Guyanese in the diaspora and the rest of the world.

During her presentation, Executive Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and International Cooperation’s Diaspora and Remigration Unit, Rosalinda Rasul, said that the unit was re-established in March, 2021 with the goal of utilising the talents and interests of the Guyanese diaspora in a way that prioritises national development.

As a convenient, round-the-clock assistance system, the new web-based platform could be accessed via voice notes and texts on WhatsApp. In addition, the AI agent speaks 16 languages, including English and Creolese.

“We thought that by having the AI agent do a lot of the work for us in terms of communication with the diaspora, that would take a lot of work and time from the staff, who can now focus on some of the more substantive duties and responsibilities that they have. We have partnered with V75 Inc. to create the AI agent for the Diaspora Unit,” Rasul said.

One of the most significant advantages of having an AI agent is that it is unrestricted and always available, allowing anyone, wherever, at any time of day, to obtain the information they require whenever it is convenient for them.
“You can call Jessie any time of the day or night, and she will politely answer all of your questions, she is a 24-hour agent that you can call,” Rasul said.

With all that is happening in Guyana, she related that all stakeholders from the private and public sectors need to improve and enhance the way in which Guyana delivers its services to Guyanese, whether locally or internationally, and by extension, foreigners.

Rasul further said that the AI service will be available as early as next week for the public’s consumption.
She also added that the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), housing, investments, immigration, and other documentary assistance, such as the banking industry, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), will all be covered by the AI agent.

The executive director also noted that while Guyana is receiving tangible interest, in all of its developments, the unit is also looking at ways in which they can improve their services to the diaspora and the world at large.

“There are many elements to Guyana and its people that are all over the world, and over the years we have been receiving quite a lot of information and interests from the diaspora in respect to Guyana.

There is no secret that what is happening in our country has generated quite a lot of interest for foreigners and our diaspora, whether it’s the oil and gas sector or agriculture manufacturing. Even if you need to get a document, there have been heightened trends that we have seen over the past few years,” she related.

While Rasul believed that this was a game changer for Guyana, she also hinted that the diaspora unit will have two other launches soon: “One will be the ferry pass booking or reservation system for the Canawaima Ferry Service; we are working on that right now; and also, you can expect the AI agent to come out for the ferry pass.

“That agent would be able to book your trip on the ferry without you having to do it yourself; you will only need to tell the agent what date you would like to travel, and he will search the schedule and the availability of the date, and it will do the booking, and you just have to confirm,” Rasul said.