Trinidad and Tobago partners with OpenAI for education programme

Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence Minister Dominic Smith said Trinidad and Tobago is one of six countries worldwide which will be partnering with the global company OpenAI to test the Education for Countries initiative.

He made the announcement during a post-Cabinet media conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's, on January 22.

Smith said TT will join Estonia, Greece, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in piloting the initiative.

“The Education for Countries initiative is designed to help nations build future-ready education systems by embedding artificial intelligence tools into schools, universities and to personalise learning, reduce administrative burdens for educators and, importantly, from the public administration side, equip our workforce with the essential skills required for a world increasingly shaped by AI.”

Smith said his ministry was formed to advance the modernisation of the public sector and to integrate as much as possible, advanced technologies to promote and move TT into the future of technology.

“OpenAI is the global leader in artificial intelligence, research and deployment. This strategic collaboration marks a pivotal milestone in the government’s official policy framework: the positioning of TT as a regional partner in the integration of advanced artificial intelligence technologies into the fabric of national development.

“OpenAI is globally recognised for its mission to ensure the advanced intelligence benefits to all of humanity, most notably through its creation of ChatGPT, a tool that has refined productivity, which is very important, and problem solving worldwide.”

He said the partnership focuses on three core pillars which remain the vision of the ministry: digital services, smart and efficient government services, and the movement towards a fully realised digital nation.

“By introducing advanced capabilities such as ChatGPT Edu, the ministry is ensuring that the nation’s human capital development is prepared to thrive in the global digital economy. The partnership complements the ministry’s ongoing technical collaborations with international bodies to ensure responsible and ethical AI adoptions.”

Smith said the ministry is conducting a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s readiness for AI, in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), leveraging UNESCO’s readiness assessment methodology and the UNDP’s landscape assessment.

He said he ministry, through the public service academy, is doing a three-day Data to Policy workshop, from January 21-23, with the support of the UNDP digital AI and innovation hub. The workshop equips senior public servants, officials, including the deputy permanent secretaries and senior managers, with practical skills in integrating data and AI into policy development.

“TT is not satisfied with being left on the sidelines of the new digital era. We will be pioneers in the space, we will be participants in the space and by these collaborations and through these multi-lateral engagements, we will be seen and continue to be seen as the leaders in technology, both in TT and in the western hemisphere.”

Smith said he wanted to make the public servants aware of the usefulness, effectiveness and modernisation of the public service, which would reduce costs for the government and provide benefits to the citizens of TT.

Asked what discussions he had been having with respect to maintaining job security given the increased use of AI, Smith said the question was a recurring one.

“The position of the ministry and the government has always been that technology should not replace people. We need to augment the technology and have the human capital developed, and that has been the approach of the ministry.”

“The ministry has done a number of human development initiatives, not only through the government, but in partnership with best practice partners. We have partnered with the UNDP, UNESCO and agencies that are aware and know the technology and are the leaders in integration and implementation across the globe.”

He said job loss was always an area of concern but the population needed to embrace change as this change is happening globally.

“We are not unique in terms of AI and how it will impact jobs. What we are trying to do as a government is to prepare our workers to be a part of that transformation. When they develop their skills, they retool, they upskill, this is how we develop our public servants and our citizenry, not only to be partakers in the local economy but the international economy as well.”

Smith said the ministry was still looking at the work-from-home policy which the previous administration had begun formulating.

“We haven’t actively engaged in the process to date, but it’s something we have been looking at with various partners. We also need to include several ministers in that mix. I’ve already started collaborating with the Labour Minister. So the government is active in terms of its analysis of it. Once there’s further feedback on that, we will be happy to share with the public and the media.”