NIA CHARLESTOWN, NEVIS (September 28, 2026)- Premier of Nevis the Honourable Mark Brantley is calling for urgent regional action to ensure the Caribbean is prepared to navigate the rapid development and far-reaching implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In a September 27 Op-Ed on the issue, Premier Brantley said AI is fundamentally reshaping how societies are organised, economies function, and people work, learn and interact.
“Artificial Intelligence has arrived, and it is here to stay. The question confronting our Caribbean civilisation is therefore no longer whether AI will transform our lives. The more important question is whether we will shape that transformation- or simply allow it to happen to us. the extraordinary speed at which AI is developing means that we must now accelerate our own regional efforts. Adequate preparation for yesterday may be wholly inadequate for today and woefully negligent for tomorrow.”
He noted that governments and institutions worldwide are confronting AI’s impact on jobs, industries, security and society, including risks such as fraud, cybercrime and disinformation, while seeking to maintain human control over the technology.
Premier Brantley said the Caribbean’s response must now move beyond discussion towards practical implementation, with AI elevated as a priority for regional political engagement. He called for a coordinated CARICOM approach to AI, noting that regional cooperation would help small Caribbean states, including OECS members, develop effective standards more efficiently and affordably.
“Common regional regulations are critical, but regulation alone will not prepare our people for what is coming. Many are quite properly concerned about job losses caused by AI. The Caribbean must confront such issues in a direct and forthright manner.
“It is undeniable that some jobs will disappear. Some jobs will change. AI is increasingly capable of performing sophisticated work in accounting, law, banking, programming, marketing, customer service, medicine and numerous other professions. For many Caribbean economies with significant employment in tourism, financial services, government administration and other service industries, this cannot be treated as somebody else’s problem. It is a shared regional problem.”
Premier Brantley called for the Caribbean to prepare its workforce for AI through education, worker retraining, updated curricula and support for entrepreneurs, stressing that the region must be positioned to benefit from emerging jobs and industries rather than be left behind.
