‘Caribbean nationals are globally competitive’
Published:Monday | December 4, 2023 | 12:06 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Dr Mark Moyou, senior data scientist at American software company NVIDIA Corporation, is recommending to Caribbean nationals that they should carve out their place in the technology sector on the global level, thereby acting as ambassadors for the region.
Addressing a forum on artificial intelligence during Friday’s first day of the sixth annual Tech Beach Retreat at the Iberostar Resort in Rose Hall, St James, Moyou stated that Caribbean people have an advantage in regards to multi-cultural interactions.
“We take a lot of pride in asking the question, ‘Okay, you’re going to sell e-servers to Facebook and Google, but what’s going to happen to the small consulting firm in the Caribbean?’ As you think about your place in the AI (artificial intelligence) world, I really encourage you to remember your Caribbean roots, but also you have to remind yourself that you can play at the world stage,” said Moyou.
“You see world-class experts, and when you look in the Caribbean, it’s very hard to find people who are world-class. They are out there, but they are not very discoverable, so as much as you can, discover folks like yourself in these top institutions that remind you that, yes, you are capable of competing and contributing at that level,” Moyou added.
As far back as 2012, calls have been made for policymakers in the Caribbean to be provided with information on how to make information, communication and technology (ICT) more affordable and equitable.
In 2018, Prime Minister Andrew Holness told a Jamaica Investment Forum meeting that Jamaica should become the Caribbean centre for technology and innovation, along with business process outsourcing, agribusiness and energy, and trade, commerce and logistics.
Moyou also told Friday’s forum that while the issue of ‘brain drain’ has been viewed negatively due to skilled professionals leaving their native lands for better opportunities overseas, he believes the phenomenon can be used to promote the Caribbean.
“There is a hypothesis that when you come from the Caribbean, you have interacted with many different races of people. So when you go into corporate America and the big international corporate environment, I believe that people from the Caribbean naturally have an advantage when it comes to customer-facing conversations,” said Moyou.
An ambassador programme
“As you think about representing your region in a lot of these large institutions, I think it is very important for us to participate. I know there is a big concern about brain-drain, but I think of brain-drain as an ambassador programme, so now I am an ambassador of the Caribbean,” Moyou continued. “Unbound the learning of the youth; please do not ‘gate’ these youths by the domains that you have set up for them. They have so much creativity, so power them with these tools so that they could create new markets. You are Caribbean-born, but you are globally competitive.”
Meanwhile, X Eyee, the founder of AI consulting firm Malo Santo, told the forum that implementation safeguards and workforce development will be crucial for the introduction of AI into any geographical region.
“You want to have guardrails to make sure that the way that AI is deployed in your society does more good than it does harm, and you also want to think about workforce development. If Amazon recommends to me a book that I don’t want to buy, that is not as harmful as a bank turning down a loan because of a biased AI system, so you want your regulation to be intelligent in that way,” said Eyee.
“For workforce development, that is making sure that the folks in your region and the businesses in your region are prepared for that.”