In February 2025, the Government of Jamaica made publicly available the National Artificial Intelligence Policy Recommendations prepared by the National Artificial Intelligence Task Force. We are joined by the Chairman of the Task Force, Christopher Reckord, to discuss the policy recommendations made, including: the unique, Jamaica-specific considerations that shaped the recommendations; the priority action items Chris hopes will be executed; and why other Caribbean countries should go through the trouble of creating a national AI policy.

 

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For longtime readers of ICT Pulse, we have been following the developments in Artificial Intelligence for several years, especially the global conversation on the need for organisations and countries to establish AI policies or guidelines to provide clear structures for AI development and/or use. In our article, Snapshot: How AI-ready were Caribbean countries in 2023?, we noted that out of the 16 Caribbean countries examined, only the  Dominican Republic had an AI vision or strategy, although, at that time, AI use had already begun to permeate all sectors and to affect the lives of all citizens.

Since that 2023 review, the Government of Jamaica has started to focus on AI, and in February 2025, it made publicly available the national AI policy recommendations proposed by the National Artificial Intelligence Task Force. The Task Force made policy recommendations in the following areas and proposed short, medium and long-term actions to fulfil the identified policy objectives:

  • AI for innovation and economic growth
  • Education and workforce development
  • Public awareness and sensitisation
  • AI infrastructure and technology
  • International cooperation in AI
  • Legal and regulatory frameworks for AI
  • Government and industry collaboration
  • Ethical foundations of AI
  • Cohesive AI Framework.

Although the report is just policy recommendations – not an approved AI policy – AI continues to be highly topical. We thus thought it timely and pertinent to delve more deeply into the policy recommendations made.

 

Introducing our guest

Christopher Reckord

Christopher Reckord is a Technology Entrepreneur, Wine Enthusiast, Foodie and lifelong learner. He is the co-author of the book, Successful Digital Transformation – Your World, Your Business, Your Life … reimagined.

Chris has been an executive in Cybersecurity and IT Provider firms for almost 40 years. He is currently an Advisor and Consultant helping (1) organisations grow and scale by implementing a customised business blueprint and transformation system and (2) as a Virtual Chief Executive Officer / Virtual Chief Technology Officer offering advisory services on business development, growth and scaling with digital transformation.

For public service, Chris serves on a number of boards and committees for businesses and the Government of Jamaica including the recently formed National Artificial Intelligence Taskforce where he serves as Chairman and the Data Protection Oversight Committee (DPOC) where is currently serves as Chairman.

For fun, his love for the business of wine has seen him become the leading voice on the topic of wine in Jamaica, writing a weekly column for the Jamaica Observer for over 10+ years and conducting regular wine education and entertainment events.

 

Insights into our conversation

Thanks to his wealth of experience, conversations with Chris are always insightful, and our discussion on the AI policy recommendations was no different. The policy recommendations are comprehensive, and the robust discussions and debates that would have occurred among the Task Force members are evident in the final product.

Listeners to our conversation might glean that although much of our discussion focused on AI and the policy recommendations made, there are fundamental challenges Jamaica still needs to tackle in areas such as education, infrastructure and talent availability to allow the country to truly leverage the potential and opportunities of AI. However, the Government still needs to decide which policy recommendations and action items it intends to adopt and how it intends to address well-established deficiencies whilst also advancing the agreed AI agenda.

Below are questions that guided our discussion with Chris.

  1. Chris, give us a sense of how and why the work towards providing these policy recommendations came about.
  2. What were some of the unique, Jamaica-specific considerations that shaped the recommendations made?
  3. Nine areas for policy recommendations were covered. What would you say is the key issue or concern in each of the areas and the recommendation?
  4. The Task Force proposed short-, medium-, and long-term actions in each of the policy areas, what do you think the Jamaican Government would need to do to successfully implement most, if not all of the recommended actions?
  5. Also, what would be the priority actions you hope would be executed?
  6. In chairing the National Artificial Intelligence Task Force, and just your varied experience in such leadership positions, was there anything that surprised you about the policy recommendations that emerged or the process conducted to arrive at the recommendations?
  7. Other Caribbean countries might see that Jamaica has published policy recommendations and think it is a ‘nice to have’ but not worth the trouble at this time.  But why should other countries go through the trouble of creating an AI Policy?
  8. Having prepared and submitted the policy recommendations, what is the desired outcome or next steps?

 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

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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:

 

 

Image credits:  C Reckord; Jeff Alsey (Pixabay);  rawpixels.com (Freepik); Gerd Altmann (Pixabay)

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

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez