The 10th edition of the annual Productivity Awareness Week is in full swing under the theme: The AI Effect: Using Innovation to Reshape Productivity and Enhance Competitiveness.
Spearheaded and launched this week by the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) and the Caribbean Digital Transformation Project, Productivity Awareness Week aims to highlight innovations implemented in various sectors and facilitate discussions and research on their potential benefits and impacts on society.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) and its impact on productivity will be a focal point of the week.
During the launch, Lisa Florent-Montoute, Director of the NCPC, stated, “AI-powered machines and robots can perform repetitive tasks with greater efficiency and speed, thereby increasing productivity and accuracy in various industries.”
The NCPC believes integrating AI into productivity and competitiveness strategies in Saint Lucia is essential in today’s evolving technological landscape. “AI-driven solutions streamline tasks, automate processes, and unlock new insights, enabling businesses and organisations to operate with efficiency and precision,” Florent-Montoute added.
Public Service Minister Dr. Virginia Albert-Poyotte supported AI integration, stating, “If we hesitate to adopt AI solutions, we risk being left behind in a rapidly evolving world. AI is not about replacing human jobs; it is about augmenting human capabilities. It allows workers to focus on higher-level tasks by automating repetitive processes.”
The minister highlighted an issue facing the public service ministry: a large volume of activities covered by only a few workers.
Albert-Poyotte projected, “With the use of technology it is going to respond to the needs of our citizens in a more timely manner,” asserting that the ultimate goal is to have a more productive workforce in Saint Lucia.
The minister also stressed, “Additionally, as we adopt AI, we must ensure that we implement frameworks that safeguard privacy, guarantee security, and ensure that AI is used ethically.”
Productivity Awareness Week will continue with activities highlighting the implementation of innovative technology and AI in different parts of the island.
Other stakeholders include local schools, youth organizations, public and private sector organizations, and civil society.
sigh…well, it’s amateur hour over at NCP and CDTP as part of PAW. Humans need jobs too..
This article highlights the self-interests and self-advancement of the two individuals named in it; and of St. Lucia Times’ aspiration to become a fixture of news publishing (I call it news agglomeration) in St. Lucia.
If my assessment was wrong, there would have been a link provided to this video, where readers & viewers would be able to form their own opinion of the “10th edition of the annual Productivity Awareness Week” and their focus on the theme, “The AI Effect: Using Innovation to Reshape Productivity and Enhance Competitiveness”
https://www.facebook.com/SaintLuciaGovernment/videos/1073663730954645
From watching the video, most revealing for me was the selfish motivation (with a few exceptions) of the participants (I see them as sheep in wolves’ clothing) towards the adoption of AI in St. Lucia as a “fait accompli”; without revealing how ineffective it would be to control outcomes (some nefarious) of AI’s prevailing algorithms against large datasets (both private & institutional).
I call them “sheep in wolves’ clothing” for a reason: They are completely dependent on the funding & infrastructure of western “intelligence” agencies and corporations. The speaker, Jim Joseph, repeatedly steered the discussion away from this “elephant in the room”, by invoking the phrase, “we will not go there.” Why, you ask?
These “sheep in wolves’ clothing” consider the outcomes desired by their current funding sources to be more important than the neo-slavery that will be perpetuated against unsuspecting local citizens. What are we to do, then, so that we are not able to take advantage of the positive aspects of AI (this is a gross misnomer of the technology itself, and meant to deprecate humanity itself)?
Seek good faith actors from the Global South nations, who offer win-win solutions in opposition to the neo-feudalism on offer (gloved iron fists) from the agents of predatory capitalism in the west.
Correction: All references above to “sheep in wolves’ clothing” should have been, “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
All the wolves I have mis-characterized as sheep (to their temporary delight), please accept my humble apologies!
What are we to do, then, so that we are not able to take advantage of the positive aspects of AI…
should have been
What are we to do, then, so that we are able to take advantage of the positive aspects of AI…
I promise to do a better job at proof-reading my posts, in the future.