In our June 2026 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Innovation Strategist and Creative Economy Advocate, Bianca Welds, who is based in Jamaica, and Halle Johnson, a Systems Administrator and PhD candidate based in Antigua and Barbuda, the panel discusses: Is AI reducing the job market for Caribbean school leavers? Online banking in the Caribbean, why does it still have so many obstacles? And the return of the Luddite classroom
This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.
The Caribbean region is navigating a complex digital transition. Regional policies that aim to foster a single, interconnected digital economy are in the process of being established, but the ground-level reality presents a paradox. Though several contradictions exist across the region, in this month’s Community Chat, the following three will be discussed:
- the rapid rise of automation
- the persistent structural hurdles in everyday financial technology, and
- the seemingly sudden and cautious retreat in the very classrooms meant to prepare the next generation.
Introducing our guest panellists
Bianca Welds is an innovation strategist and creative economy advocate working at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, finance, and the arts. She has worked across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, with experience in digital transformation, startup support, ecosystem building, and creative entrepreneurship.
She is currently the Head of Projects and Partnerships at Kingston Creative, where she leads programmes to support creative entrepreneurs and strengthen the creative sector. She also serves as Chief Innovation Officer at Blue Mahoe Capital, where she supports innovation strategy and venture development.
Bianca is a creative thinker, facilitator, and technology community voice who has presented locally and internationally on business model innovation, community building, digital transformation, and the intersections of the arts and technology.
Mr Halle Johnson is the Systems Administrator at the University of The West Indies Five Islands Campus in Antigua and Barbuda. He has over 20 years of experience in the IT field and has worked in various sectors, including online gaming, hospitality, border control, E-Sports, and academia. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems and Computing from the University of London, a Master of Business Administration with specialisation in Information Systems Strategy and Governance from Edinburgh Napier University, and is currently pursuing a PhD in IT, with a specialisation in Cybersecurity.
Halle also holds several industry certifications from Amazon, Microsoft, Cisco, to name a few. His current interests include Cybersecurity, Data Science, AI and Cryptocurrency
The topics discussed
For decades, traditional entry-level pathways for Caribbean school leavers—such as regional call centres, data entry, and basic administrative and bookkeeping roles—served as vital stepping stones into the workforce. However, the rapid integration of generative AI is shifting the goalposts. We thus kicked off the conversation with the topic, “Is AI reducing the job market for Caribbean school leavers?”, as we all continue to grapple with how AI and other emerging technologies are transforming the workplace.
Second, although advanced AI has been reshaping the labour market, everyday digital infrastructure—specifically online banking—remains plagued by systemic bottlenecks. Despite high regional mobile penetration, which is well over 100%, the transition to a seamless digital economy is uneven at best, and exceedingly slow to virtually non-existent, at worse. We decided to revisit a previously discussed topic, “Online banking in the Caribbean, why does it still have so many obstacles?” to explore what has changed in the five years since we broached the subject.
Finally, faced with the twin challenges of an AI-altered job market and a fraught digital landscape, education policymakers in some developed countries have been reassessing their digital strategies, particularly technology use in the classroom. For our final topic, we discuss “The return of the Luddite classroom”, though the opposite trend is what has been occurring in the region.
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Select links
Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:
- Bianca Welds
- Halle Johnson
- Robinson, C Justin and Moore, Winston paper, Attitudes and Preferences in Relation to Internet Banking in the Caribbean
- One Laptop per Child
- Arlene Bailey, The Role of Information and Communication Technologies(ICTs) in Early Childhood Education in Jamaica: Early Observations from a One-Laptop-Per-Child Pilot Project
- Namank Shah paper, A Blurry Vision: Reconsidering the Failure of the One Laptop Per Child Initiative
- UNESCO article, Sweden: the unmet promises of the digital classroom
- Labo Société Numérique article, Back to school 2025: teaching and learning in the age of AI and digital control
- World Bank article, The ‘quiet’ revolution in schools: more and more countries are locking up phones – Part 1
- UNESCO article, Modernizing Jamaica’s education system: The Digital Transformation initiative
- Barbados Today article, Barbados a digital education pioneer with Google first – Minister
- Canada Caribbean Institute article, Caribbean education in crisis, World Bank warns
Images credit: B Welds; H Johnson; rawpixel.com (Magnific); Freepik (Magnific); Freepik (Magnific)
Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell
Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez
