MONTEGO BAY, St James — Two of Jamaica’s leading business process outsourcing (BPO) executives have dismissed claims by the parliamentary Opposition that artificial intelligence (AI) poses an existential threat to the sector, citing that the industry’s greatest challenge is competitiveness, not technology.

Their comments follow warnings from Opposition spokesman on productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness Peter Bunting, who told the House of Representatives on Wednesday that AI threatens the future of the sector, which employs approximately 50,000 Jamaicans. Bunting said one of the country’s largest operators had reportedly cut 40 per cent of its workforce as business became more automated.

However, president of the Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ) and managing director of national credit adjusters Jamaica, Wayne Sinclair, cautioned against attributing job losses to AI.