The University of the West Indies is positioning itself to become the Caribbean’s leading force in artificial intelligence (AI), with new plans to build a regional AI institute, create specialised industry hubs, and prepare governments and businesses for what administrators describe as the biggest technological shift in modern history.
That declaration came yesterday from principal of the Five Islands Campus, Professor Justin Robinson, during the Vice-Chancellor’s Annual Council Meeting Report and media question-and-answer session at the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management.
He said the university was determined not to repeat the region’s historical pattern of reacting late to global technological change.
“One of the certainties is that artificial intelligence, or AI, is going to change almost all aspects of human life,” Robinson said. “It’s going to be one of the most important and significant developments in human history.”
He warned that while AI would create enormous opportunities, it would also generate significant risks for small developing countries if they failed to adapt quickly enough.
“The UWI, as the leading Caribbean university, is determined to be ahead of the curve on this AI revolution. We want to make sure that the Caribbean is well positioned to maximise the opportunities and minimise the risks,” Robinson said.
Central to that strategy is the creation of a UWIwide AI institute known as INSIGHT – the Institute
for Intelligent Systems, Governance and Human-Centred Technology.
Robinson explained that the initiative would operate across all campuses and eventually expand into multiple sectors, including tourism, agriculture, health care, climate resilience and public administration.
“We are very pleased to be able to roll out the first part of that programme, which is the Sagicor UWI AI and Financial Services Hub,” he announced.
The project is being launched in partnership with Sagicor Financial Corporation.
Robinson stressed that the region could no longer afford to remain dependent on imported technologies that often failed to reflect Caribbean realities.
He revealed that about $5 million in initial funding would begin rolling out from August as part of the project’s first implementation phase.
“This is what regional self-reliance actually looks like in 2026. Not a slogan, but a balance sheet, real money, a research agenda, a talent pipeline, a governance framework and coordination through the UWI,” he said. (CLM)
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