ICTP 008: Community Chat on the future of work, 10-digit dialling, and new laws versus our basic rights

In this our second Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean ICT/tech community, Carolyn Ferguson, and Dr Kieron Swift, we discuss: the future of work in the Caribbean – how technology is changing the workplace; the introduction of 10 digit dialling in Jamaica; and why does it appear that in many Caribbean countries, provisions are being included in recently proposed ICT-related legislation that seek to criminalise, or otherwise impinge upon, some of our basic or constitutional rights?

Episode is also available in Apple iTunes and on Stitcher!

To draw May to a close, and to introduce June, welcome to our second Community Chat! For this session, I was joined by two guests:

Carolyn Ferguson

Carolyn Ferguson, a certified Electrical Engineer, Chief Executive Officer of R.E.A.L Intercommunications, and a Lecturer in the Electrical Engineering Department, at the University of Technology, here in Jamaica, and
Dr Kieron Swift, an Innovation and Competitiveness Policy specialist, and the Co-Founder of Innova-Link Solutions and Systems Ltd, a newly launched consulting firm that delivers end-to-end digital technology solutions that accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship strategies for public and private sector organisations, and is based in Trinidad and Tobago.

The following three topics are discussed:

Dr Kieron Swift

The future of work. Emerging digital technologies (e.g. automation, artificial intelligence, Big Data, etc.) have started to – and will continue to – affect how businesses operate and how people work. Kieron is particularly interested in the challenges and opportunities for people in the Caribbean region, and in examining the extent to which we are positioned for surmounting the challenges and exploiting the opportunities.
The introduction of 10 digit dialling in Jamaica, which took effect on 31 May. So, in moving from 7-digit dialing to 10 digits, Carolyn lead us through a discussion of what might be the impact of such a change on the Jamaican society, especially, on telecoms service providers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with PBX’s, and even on consumers.
And finally, why does it appear that recently proposed ICT-related legislation is at odds with some of our basic rights? I, Michele, have been concerned about I think might be an alarming trend across the Caribbean region. Recently proposed ICT-related laws are including provisions that either seek to criminalise, or otherwise unduly impinge on, some of our basic or constitutional rights, such as with relation to freedom of speech and press freedom.