Guyana needs to address Artificial Intelligence

Last Updated on Thursday, 7 March 2024, 13:24 by Denis Chabrol

President Irfaan Ali inspecting the Guard of Honour at the opening of the Guyana Police Force’s 2024 Officers’ Conference. (GPF photo)

President Irfaan Ali on Thursday said the time has come for government to develop policies to deal with Artificial Intelligence (AI), in light of legal developments in the Developed World.

“All three branches of government must, I think, have a conversation on AI and where AI is going because AI would affect the judiciary, AI is already affecting the judiciary internationally, it will affect the Executive and, of course, it will affect the legislature because you may have AI-generated parliamentary speeches too and the means of verification would be very difficult,” he said.

Dr Ali, who was addressing the official opening of the Guyana Police Force’s Annual Officers’ Conference, referred to US Chief Justice John G. Roberts warning  about the influence and future of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in the legal profession. “We saw what occurred in the Supreme Court in the US and so we have to build structures and systems and regulations that will deal with AIU now otherwise we will be in a trap,” he said.

Dr Ali, who is also Chairman of the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said the issue of AI was engaging the attention of “not only the region but many countries around the world.”

Calling it the “latest technological frontier”, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that legal research could soon be “unimaginable” without AI. Across in Canada, lawyer Chong Ke came under fire after the artificial intelligence chatbot she used for legal research created “fictitious” cases, in the latest episode to expose the perils of untested technologies in the courtroom.

The University of Guyana recently developed its own AI policy to allow students to use that technology for research but in a controlled manner.