The Tribune

The Bahamas has been urged to "get on that crest" of adopting artificial intelligence (AI) for use in business and education, amid warnings that it cannot "stick its head in the sand".

The upcoming Bahamas Business Outlook 2020 conference, scheduled for January 16, will feature a panel discussion about how artificial intelligence impacts various industries in The Bahamas.

Dr Charles Diggiss, president of Doctors Hospital, will discuss how information sharing is changing healthcare, while Crachad Laing, head of math and sciences at Windsor School, will highlight technological advancements in education. Arthur Frisch, chief technology officer and co-founder of Fli Drone, will discuss how emerging technology is shifting transportation and logistics.

"The healthcare provider's role has changed, and the implications for The Bahamas would be to get on that crest," said Dr Diggiss. "People are entering the connected space, which allows data to move from them into some repository where that data is going to be handled, assimilated, go through deep learning algorithms, results come out and circumvents the healthcare provider. And you learn a lot of things about yourself without going to the doctor."

Mr Laing added that the efficiency of processing, analysing and producing outcomes from big data is what makes artificial intelligence and machine learning such a critical concept that is causing a major shift in education.

He explained: "Artificial intelligence and machine learning has changed how and what we teach. I think, in the near future, subjects like history, social studies, lower level math and general sciences will be cut out just because it's not about being able to recollect this information or access it in your memory.

"At the end of the day, you can access that information at any time. We have voice recognition software. We have augmented reality goggles where I can ask Google a question and it appears in my line of view as if I am just at a computer desk asking the same thing. So, in education, there is definitely this shift happening where learning is more skills-based and industry-based as opposed to broad and general."

Dr Diggiss said Bahamians cannot simply "stick our heads in the sand" and ignore emerging technology, especially when these advances are already changing life as we know it. He added that online banking and airport check-in kiosks have forced Bahamians to change in line with new technology.

"Your default is going to go," he added. "And if you're default is gone then you're locked into this process that will take you face-to-face, and head-to-head, with the reality of the applications of artificial intelligence. It's already the background of some many things that we do now."

The Business Outlook 2020 will take place at Baha Mar on January 16, 2020, under the theme A new era: Resilience in the face of vulnerability. To register, visit www.tclevents.com or contact Margaret Albury: malbury@tclbahamas.com or 242.322.1000.