Symmonds: Be prepared for AI

Article by Carlos Atwell

Barbados is lapsing in a major area where it can ill afford to do, says Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kerrie Symmonds.

Addressing the Barbados Workers’ Union’s 81st annual delegates’ conference on Saturday at Solidarity House, Harmony Hall, St Michael, he said artificial intelligence (AI) was taking over some areas of work worldwide and Barbados had to be prepared.

“The world is moving at lightning speed in a direction we are not talking about sufficiently. We must be sufficiently alert to bear in mind the most vital possession any Barbadian worker can have is job security . . . . The World Economic Forum has warned as many as 83 million jobs globally are likely to disappear over the course of the next five years . . . due to the rise of AI,” he said.

Symmonds said this was a matter which should garner the attention of the Social Partnership. (CA)

Subscribe now to our eNATION edition for the full story.

For the latest stories and breaking news updates download the Nationnews apps for iOS and Android.