We celebrate our 300th episode of the Podcast with a long-time friend of the show, Trevor Forrest, experienced IT expert and Founder of 876 Technology Solutions, in which we continue the discussion we started in January 2024 on the internet we should want in 2024 and beyond. In this conversation, Trevor shares his thoughts on: how the internet has evolved over the past 30 years; Artificial intelligence and its potential to level the playing field in favour of developing countries; what policymakers don’t get about the Internet of Everything; the digital economy and what we ought to be doing to grow it; whether we should be taking quantum computing more seriously at this time; and much more!

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music!!

Over the past several weeks, popular social media platforms have been experiencing several outages, which has put businesses that use these platforms extensively in a bit of panic. Further, across the Caribbean region, organisations and individuals continue to complain about the unreliability and overall poor quality of the internet service they are receiving. Though two seemingly disparate situations, they both highlight how crucial the internet has become to our personal and work lives, and to some degree, our expectations of the internet and the helplessness we may feel due to the lack of control we seem to have.

In this our 300th episode of the Podcast, we are continuing a conversation we started in January 2024 on “the internet we should want”, which aims to have us explore more deeply the role the internet has been playing versus the role it should be playing in our lives and our societies. Underlying this theme is the view that though Caribbean societies have been enjoying some of the features and benefits of the internet, we are not fully leveraging its potential and capabilities, but to do so, we need to know what we want and consequently, be more deliberate in the choices we make. In other words, we have more power than we think.

 

Introducing our guest

Trevor Forrest

Trevor Forrest is an IT Industry stalwart with over 30 years of seasoned experience primarily in North America and the Caribbean region. He has been at the forefront of ICT adoption in both public and private sectors in Jamaica and has also served as Senior Technology Advisor to the Government of Jamaica and served on various ICT Committees and boards.

Trevor is the Founder of 876 Technology Solutions, a managed technology provider of comprehensive technology solutions geared towards small and medium-sized companies across the Caribbean region. He is a Certified Blockchain Architect from the Blockchain Council and an active member of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) Technical Committee on Blockchain.

Beyond his professional engagements, Trevor is a passionate music producer and a dedicated family man.

 

Insights into our conversation

Chatting with Trevor is always engaging and instructive. He not only brings the depth and breadth of his knowledge and experience to the table every time, but he also shares real-world examples to illustrate the points he makes. In this conversation, we discussed several technological trends and advancements, but to contextualise them and their potential value within the wider society, we also needed to understand some of the mindsets that would be encountered. A recurring theme in our conversation, which was highlighted in several of Trevor’s real-world examples, is that the people who are likely to benefit the most from greater technology integration are the ones who need the most convincing.

Here are the questions that drove our talk.

  1. How has the internet landscape been evolving?
  2. Why aren’t we much further developed although we have national plans and/or sector plans in place?
  3. Is privacy an illusion in our sharing economy?
  4. What is the value of the Internet of Everything?
  5. Is quantum computing something we should be taking seriously at this time?
  6. What are your thoughts on the digital economy, and what should we be doing to develop that aspect of our economy?
  7. What should we be thinking of when we speak of digital identification or national identification systems?
  8. Why haven’t Caribbean Central Bank Digital Currencies gained the traction anticipated?

 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  T Forrest;  Pete Linforth (Pixabay);  Gerd Altmann (Pixabay);  Pete Linforth (Pixabay)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing Support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez