Jamaicans are being cautioned to dismiss any notion that artificial intelligence [AI] will take over their jobs, and should instead learn to treat the technology as a tool to help them become more productive in the workforce.

Trevor Forrest, senior adviser in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), told delegates at the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference, in Montego Bay, St James that it would be logistically harmful to completely replace human workers with AI.

“We have to overcome the view and the fear that ‘AI is going to replace me’,” said Forrest,  who serves as an adviser to Dr Andrew Wheatley, minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for science, technology and special projects.