In our May 2026 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Tamira La Cruz, an Economic Development Advisor and Private Sector Specialist based in Curaçao, and Natalie Maharaj, a Digital Transformation Consultant and Responsible Technology Advocate based in Trinidad and Tobago, the panel discusses:  AI literacy in the Caribbean; SIDS investing in tech development; and privacy and consent in AI.

 

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

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in business, government, education and everyday life, Caribbean countries have a unique opportunity to position themselves for the digital future. However, we cannot limit our digital future to just using technology others have developed. To truly realise economic resilience, competitiveness and sustainable development, we must be knowledgeable and proficient enough to empower ourselves and chart the future we want.

In this month’s Community Chat podcast episode, we explore some of the critical pathways for the Caribbean region’s tech development – not only as the business space but also, and perhaps more importantly, as a society.

 

Introducing our guest panellists

Tamira La Cruz

Tamira La Cruz, MBA (The Wharton School, Boston University), provides technical assistance to small Caribbean states to strengthen competitiveness across targeted economic sectors and state-owned enterprises, on behalf of multilateral agencies and development banks. Currently, she manages the programme to reform the business enabling environment and increase competitiveness in Curaçao, funded by the Dutch Government.

Given its potential and critical position in the Caribbean, the technology sector is a focus sector. As such, Tamira has conducted baseline studies for the sector in Curaçao, ensured that Curaçao firms are part of Carib-Export’s Digital Checkup, and actively advocates for digital transformation and for Curaçao tech firms to co-create solutions that the government and the private sector need.

An active member of the business community, Tamira previously served on the board of the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce and has advised domestic and multinational enterprises on strategic growth throughout the Caribbean.

Natalie Maharaj

Natalie Maharaj is a results-driven Digital Transformation Consultant and Responsible Technology Advocate with over 25 years of experience leading multi-sector technology initiatives. 

Natalie has always promoted Digital Citizenship; her passion for Responsible AI and Technology has earned her a scholarship with Stanford University to pursue a course in Ethics and Technology Policy. 

With a Master of Science in Operational Cybersecurity, a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Computing, she possesses deep expertise in ICT Governance, Digital Transformation, IT Security Resilience, and ICT Program Management. She currently serves as the Vice President of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) Trinidad and Tobago Chapter, the local branch of an international body that educates and certifies ICT Audit, Risk and Security Professionals.

 

The topics discussed

We kicked off this Community Chat by discussing AI literacy in the Caribbean, which has overtaken digital literacy as a priority in the minds of policymakers and industry. However, although the subject is relatively new, and noting the approach taken to digital literacy—which has generally been implemented via short-term or ad hoc programmes rather than more comprehensive, longer-term interventions—the effort required to properly address AI literacy does not appear to be readily evident.

Next, we focused on Caribbean tech innovation and entrepreneurship, and more specifically, what it takes to have commercially viable digital hardware and software products originating from the region. Hence, our topic, SIDS (Small Island Developing States) investing in tech development, broadens the focus beyond the Caribbean region to other SIDS countries, where similar tech innovation and entrepreneurship challenges are being experienced.

Finally, we tackle Privacy and consent in AI, which was already a concern, gained greater visibility in recent weeks when reports emerged that Google Chrome and Anthropic, the maker of Claude AI, have been installing AI models on devices without users fully understanding what was happening. Some articles focused on the spyware nature of these installations, whilst others were concerned about the energy and climate/green implications of every user device worldwide running an AI model, but for this conversation, our attention was on matters related to privacy and consent.  

 

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 La Cruz;  N Maharaj;  rawpixel.com (Magnific);  Catkin (Pixabay);  rawpixel.com (Magnific)

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

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez