In many recent global and regional assessments on artificial intelligence (AI), Caribbean countries have performed poorly, as the requisite systems and frameworks are still underdeveloped. The foundation of any country’s work on AI is establishing national policies and a framework to facilitate the development of the enabling environment. With Dr Craig Ramlal, the Chair of the Caribbean AI Task Force, we discuss the Task Force’s Interim Report, which proposes harmonised AI policies for the region.

 

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

For years, the Caribbean region has found itself in a bit of a ‘connectivity paradox’. Although the region boasts some of the world’s highest mobile penetration rates, it consistently lands in the bottom tiers of global Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness assessments. Whether it’s the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index or the recently minted AI Investment Potential Index (AIIPI) 2025, the story is often the same: Small Island Developing States (SIDS) struggling with high infrastructure costs, fragmented regulations, and a persistent “brain drain” of tech talent.

However, a shift is underway. The Caribbean Telecommunications Union established the Caribbean Artificial Intelligence to facilitate a regional approach to AI, and on 13 December 2025, the Task Force released its Interim Report entitled Toward Harmonised AI Policies and Recommendations for the Caribbean, for which feedback would be welcomed.

The Task Force, chaired by Dr Craig Ramlal, has proposed a pivot from isolated national efforts to a CARICOM-wide framework. Hence, arguably, this report is not just a policy paper; it is a regional survival guide for the age of automation, and the subject of this podcast episode.

 

Introducing our guests

Dr Craig Ramlal

Dr. Craig Ramlal is the Executive Director of the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Centre and the Head of the Control Systems Group in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. In 2023, the United Nations recognised him as a preeminent AI leader, appointing him to theUnited Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence. The body’s recommendations on governing AI for humanity formed Objective 5 of the Global Digital Compact, which was adopted by member states in September 2024 during the 79th UN General Assembly, and implemented in August 2025 during the 80th UN General Assembly.

He currently serves as the Chair of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union’s (CTU) Caribbean Taskforce on AI, charged with writing harmonised AI policies, recommendations and guidelines for the Caribbean nations, a lead on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Global Initiative on the Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems 2.0, a member of the CARICOM’s Security Strategy Steering Committee, as an advisor to the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) on regional AI education policy matters, a member of the eLAC’s Caribbean AI working group toward fulfilling the eLAC2026 Agenda and on the CARICOM-UNDP joint regional AI programme for the Caribbean 2026-2030.

Previously, Craig served on the Caribbean Development Bank’s technical subcommittee on IRC/RDA, collaborated with CARICOM IMPACS on the regionally adopted Autonomous Weapon Systems Declaration, and acted as a regional coordinator for open data strategy development across Caribbean nations in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and NASA. He developed and authored the founding vision, operational modalities, and strategic focus of the newly formed UWI’s Institute for Intelligent Systems, Governance and Human-Centred Technology (INSIGHT), served on the AI subcommittee for writing the adopted AI policy for all UWI’s campuses and was also an invited peer reviewer for UNESCO’s AI Policy Roadmap for the Caribbean. Finally, he led the development of several UWI postgraduate degrees at the UWI, including the Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in AI, Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in AI, Master of Applied Science (MASc) in AI, Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in AI and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in AI.

Through his centre, Craig has established collaborative partnerships that have led to advancements across multiple fields, including the development of advanced robotics with Rutgers University; deep learning-based auto-diagnostics for asset management with Elering AS and Tallinn University of Technology; blockchain-based systems for water management with the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean; and ventilation systems developed in collaboration with the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Health, GoRTT and researchers from the University of Florida to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. These initiatives have resulted in several implemented systems, as well as numerous technical reports, peer-reviewed journal articles, and conference papers.

Craig is an editor and reviewer for several journals. He earned his BSc, MASc, and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering through split-site by the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago, and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia. His research focuses on control systems, artificial intelligence, and game-theoretic systems.

 

Insights into our conversation

First, although we often look to global AI indices to assess our performance relative to others, it must be emphasised that these evaluation exercises often do not capture the nuances, challenges or vulnerabilities SIDS face. Nevertheless, they do highlight a harsh truth: without a cohesive strategy, the Caribbean region risks becoming merely a consumer, or a “standards-taker” of technologies developed elsewhere, as the Task Force’s Interim Report suggests.

To that end, the region can no longer be content with being a passive observer of the digital revolution. Moreover, the move toward a harmonised AI policy could be seen as a declaration of digital sovereignty across the region, which, if done well and successfully realised—by treating the region as a single, integrated digital space—Caribbean countries would be able to transform their “smallness” from a liability into a nimble, innovative advantage.

Below are questions posed to Craig that drove our conversation.

  1. How and why did the Caribbean AI Task Force come about?
  2. Are there specific objectives or activities that the Task Force is required to undertake? Who are the other members?
  3. What were some of the unique or underlying considerations that shaped the recommendations made by the Task Force in its Interim Report? And what approach did the Task Force employ to arrive at its recommendations?
  4. What would you say is the key issue or concern in each of the policy areas, and the recommendation?
  5. So far, what has been the reception to the Task Force’s interim report and recommendations?
  6. A longstanding observation and complaint of the CARICOM region is the slow pace of advancing agreed-upon initiatives and the disjointedness in implementing agreed-upon actions. How important is a unified approach by (all) CARICOM countries to the successful implementation of the policy recommendations?
  7. Having prepared and submitted the interim report, what is the desired outcome or next steps?

 

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Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

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

 

 

Images credit:  C Ramlal;  Freepik; rawpixel.com (Freepik);  iuriimotov (Freepik) 

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

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez