I sit on Jamaica's National AI Task Force. That gives me a perspective on government AI efforts that most commentators do not have, and it also gives me a responsibility to be honest about what is working, what is not, and what needs to change. This is not going to be a press release about how well Jamaica is doing. It is going to be an honest assessment from inside the process.
Let me be direct. Jamaica has made real progress on AI policy. The establishment of the National AI Task Force was a genuine step forward. But progress and speed are two different things. The pace of AI development globally is measured in months. The pace of government policy development in Jamaica, like most countries, is measured in years. That mismatch is the central challenge of everything I am about to describe.
The Current Institutional Architecture
Understanding Jamaica's government approach to AI requires understanding who does what. The Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport (MSET) is the lead ministry. MSET oversees telecommunications, digital infrastructure, science policy, and now AI strategy. The Minister and the permanent secretary set the political direction. Below them, the technical work is distributed across several bodies.
The National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST) provides the broader science and technology policy framework. The NCST has been the institutional home for Jamaica's science policy for decades, and AI falls within its remit as an emerging technology. The NCST connects AI policy to Jamaica's broader science, technology, and innovation agenda.
The National AI Task Force is the body specifically charged with developing Jamaica's AI policy framework. The Task Force includes AI practitioners (I am one of them), academics from UWI and other institutions, private sector technology leaders, and government officials. Its mandate is to develop recommendations for AI governance, identify priority sectors, and propose a national AI strategy.
This institutional structure makes sense on paper. The question is whether it moves fast enough in practice.
What the AI Task Force Has Actually Done
I want to be fair to the Task Force and to the government officials who have committed time and effort to this process. Real work has been done.
The Task Force has conducted a baseline assessment of Jamaica's AI readiness across government, education, and the private sector. This was not a superficial exercise. It involved actual engagement with government agencies, universities, and private sector companies to understand where Jamaica stands. The findings confirmed what many of us in the AI community already knew: Jamaica has pockets of genuine AI capability surrounded by large areas of minimal understanding and adoption.
The Task Force has developed draft governance principles for AI deployment in the public sector. These principles cover transparency, accountability, bias mitigation, privacy protection, and human oversight of AI systems. They are not yet formalized into binding guidelines, but they represent a serious intellectual effort to think through how Jamaica should govern AI use by its own government.
The Task Force has also identified priority sectors for government AI investment: public safety, healthcare, education, agriculture, and government services. This prioritization is based on both the potential impact of AI in each sector and Jamaica's readiness to deploy AI effectively. Public safety and healthcare emerged as the highest-impact opportunities where AI could address urgent national challenges.
The Task Force has engaged with international partners, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), UNESCO, and bilateral partners, to understand best practices and access technical assistance. Jamaica is not developing its AI policy in isolation. It is learning from countries that are further along the process.
What Is Still Missing
Here is where I move from description to assessment, and where my role as both a Task Force member and an independent AI practitioner creates a tension I am going to be transparent about.
Jamaica does not yet have a published national AI strategy document. Most countries that are serious about AI have published one. Singapore, Canada, France, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Colombia, Chile, and dozens of other countries have published national AI strategies that lay out priorities, funding commitments, governance frameworks, and implementation timelines. Jamaica has not. The work is in progress, but in the time Jamaica has been developing its strategy, AI has gone from an emerging technology to a deployed technology that is reshaping global industries.
There is no dedicated AI funding from the government. A national AI strategy without dedicated funding is a document, not a strategy. Countries that have made meaningful progress on AI have committed real money. Not always large amounts relative to their budgets, but dedicated funds for AI research, AI training, AI deployment in government, and AI ecosystem development. Jamaica has not yet made that commitment.
Government AI procurement remains broken. I have watched Jamaican government agencies buy AI-related technology from international vendors through procurement processes that were not designed for technology acquisition. The result is often expensive systems that do not work well in the Jamaican context, long implementation timelines, and missed opportunities to support Jamaican AI companies that could have delivered better results. Procurement reform is not glamorous, but it is one of the single most impactful things the government could do for Jamaica's AI ecosystem.
The data governance framework is incomplete. Jamaica passed the Data Protection Act in 2020, which was a positive step. But the Act was not designed for the AI era. It does not address AI-specific issues like algorithmic bias, automated decision-making rights, training data governance, or the use of personal data in machine learning systems. AI-specific data governance guidelines are needed, and they are not yet in place.
There is no AI talent strategy. Government needs AI talent to deploy AI in government services. It currently cannot compete with the private sector on salary for AI professionals, and it does not have alternative mechanisms (like mission-driven hiring, flexible work arrangements, or secondment programs from the private sector) to attract AI talent into government. Without AI talent in government, AI deployment in government will not happen at meaningful scale.
The gap between Jamaica's AI policy aspirations and its policy execution is not about intelligence or commitment. It is about speed. The government is working on AI policy at government speed in a world that is moving at AI speed.
How Jamaica Compares to the Caribbean
Jamaica is not the only Caribbean nation thinking about AI. Understanding the regional context helps clarify where Jamaica stands.
Barbados has made notable progress on digital government and has been more aggressive about deploying technology in public services. Its smaller size makes coordination easier, and the Barbados government has shown a willingness to experiment with digital tools that Jamaica's larger bureaucracy has been slower to adopt.
Trinidad and Tobago has a growing technology sector and has benefited from its energy wealth to invest in digital infrastructure. However, it also lacks a published national AI strategy and faces similar challenges to Jamaica in converting policy discussions into concrete action.
The Dominican Republic, with its larger economy, has attracted more international technology investment and has a more developed technology outsourcing sector. But its AI policy development is not significantly further advanced than Jamaica's.
The honest assessment is that no Caribbean nation has yet published a genuine, funded, actionable national AI strategy. The Caribbean as a region is behind Latin American leaders like Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay, all of which have published national AI strategies with varying degrees of implementation progress. Jamaica has the potential to be the Caribbean leader, but potential without execution is just a pleasant idea.
What the Government Should Do Next
I am going to be specific about recommendations because general advice is useless. Here is what I believe the Jamaican government should do, in order of priority.
First, publish the national AI strategy. It does not need to be perfect. It needs to exist. A published strategy creates accountability, attracts international support and investment, signals seriousness to the private sector, and gives government agencies a framework for action. Every month of delay is a month where other countries are building their AI ecosystems while Jamaica is still discussing its plans.
Second, allocate dedicated AI funding. Even a modest initial commitment, J$500 million over three years, would signal seriousness and enable concrete action. This funding should support AI deployment in two or three priority government services, AI training for government workers, and grants or incentives for Jamaican AI companies to build solutions for government.
Third, reform technology procurement. Create a fast-track procurement pathway for technology solutions under a defined value threshold. Allow Jamaican technology companies to compete fairly with international vendors. Evaluate AI solutions on demonstrated capability rather than company size or international brand name.
Fourth, build government AI capacity. Create a small, high-quality government AI team, even ten people initially, with competitive compensation and a clear mandate to deploy AI in priority government services. This team should be housed in MSET and should serve as an internal resource for other government agencies.
Fifth, update data governance. Amend the Data Protection Act or issue AI-specific data governance guidelines that address algorithmic transparency, automated decision-making, and training data governance. Do this in consultation with Jamaica's AI community, not in isolation.
Sixth, engage CARICOM on regional AI coordination. AI challenges and opportunities do not stop at national borders. A coordinated Caribbean approach to AI governance, talent development, and market access would benefit Jamaica and every other Caribbean nation. Jamaica should be leading this conversation within CARICOM.
The Role of the Private Sector
Government cannot build Jamaica's AI ecosystem alone. The private sector has responsibilities too, and in many ways, the private sector has moved faster than the government.
Jamaica's banks have deployed AI for fraud detection and risk management. BPO companies are integrating AI into their service delivery. Tourism operators are beginning to use AI for revenue management and guest experience. These deployments happened because there was a clear business case, not because the government told companies to adopt AI.
The private sector should engage more actively with the policy process. Too many technology companies in Jamaica view government policy as irrelevant to their business. It is not. Government policy on data protection, AI governance, procurement, and education directly affects the AI business environment. Private sector companies that engage constructively with the Task Force and the policy process will help shape an environment that supports AI growth. Those that stay on the sidelines will live with whatever the government decides without their input.
What This Means for You
If you are a Jamaican citizen wondering what your government is doing about AI, the answer is: something, but not enough, and not fast enough. The people involved in the process are capable and committed. The institutional machinery is slow. The funding is insufficient. The gap between policy and execution is too wide.
What you can do is hold the government accountable. Ask your Member of Parliament about Jamaica's AI strategy. Ask MSET when the national AI strategy will be published. Ask whether the government is buying AI solutions from Jamaican companies or sending that money overseas. Citizens who ask these questions create pressure for action. That pressure matters.
If you work in government, seek out AI training. Understand what AI can and cannot do for your ministry or agency. Identify specific processes where AI could improve service delivery. The government workers who understand AI will be the ones who shape how Jamaica's public sector uses it.
If you are in the private sector, do not wait for government policy to tell you what to do. Build AI capabilities now. Engage with the policy process. And build the business case for AI adoption that makes government adoption more likely, because when government officials see AI working successfully in Jamaica's private sector, it reduces the perceived risk of deploying it in government services.
The Bigger Picture
Jamaica is a small country making decisions about a technology that will reshape the global economy. We do not have the luxury of getting this wrong. If Jamaica gets AI policy right, it accelerates economic growth, improves public services, and creates new categories of high-value jobs for Jamaicans. If it gets AI policy wrong, or simply takes too long to get it right, Jamaica risks falling further behind in a global economy that increasingly rewards AI capability.
I remain optimistic, but my optimism is conditional. It depends on the government moving faster than it has moved so far. It depends on dedicated funding for AI. It depends on procurement reform. It depends on the kind of institutional urgency that I have not yet seen from the Jamaican government on AI, but that I believe is possible if the political will exists.
I will continue to push for these things from inside the Task Force and from outside it. But I cannot do it alone, and the Task Force cannot do it alone. Jamaica's AI future depends on a broader national commitment, from government, the private sector, academia, and citizens, to treat AI not as a future technology but as a present reality that demands present action.
AI Prompt Templates You Can Use Today
Use these prompts to explore Jamaica's AI policy landscape:
Compare Jamaica's progress on national AI policy with three Caribbean nations (Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic) and three similar-sized developing countries outside the Caribbean. What specific lessons can Jamaica learn from countries that have successfully published and implemented national AI strategies?
I work in the Jamaican government in [ministry/agency]. Identify three specific government processes in my area that could benefit from AI deployment. For each, describe the AI solution, estimated cost, expected benefits, potential risks, and what data would be needed. Frame this for a non-technical permanent secretary.
Draft a briefing note for Jamaica's Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport on why Jamaica needs dedicated AI funding. Include comparisons with other developing countries that have allocated AI budgets, specific funding recommendations, and expected returns on investment. Keep it to two pages.
Analyze Jamaica's Data Protection Act (2020) and identify the gaps that need to be addressed for AI governance. What AI-specific provisions should Jamaica add? Use the EU AI Act and other international AI governance frameworks as reference points, but adapt recommendations for Jamaica's legal and economic context.
Create a 12-month implementation timeline for Jamaica's national AI strategy, assuming the strategy is published this quarter. Include specific milestones for government AI deployment, procurement reform, talent development, and private sector engagement. Identify the three biggest risks to the timeline and how to mitigate them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Jamaica have an AI policy?
Jamaica is developing a national AI policy through its National AI Task Force, established under the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport (MSET). As of 2026, the policy framework is in development and covers AI governance, ethical guidelines, data protection, workforce development, and sector-specific deployment standards. Jamaica does not yet have a finalized, published national AI strategy document comparable to those of larger nations, but the policy development process is active.
What is Jamaica's AI task force doing?
Jamaica's National AI Task Force is developing the country's AI policy framework, creating governance standards for AI deployment in the public sector, advising on data protection alignment with AI use, identifying priority sectors for government AI investment, and building recommendations for AI workforce development. The Task Force includes technical experts, private sector representatives, and civil society members. It reports to the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport.
Who is on Jamaica's National AI Task Force?
Jamaica's National AI Task Force includes AI practitioners, academics, private sector technology leaders, and government officials. Members include Adrian Dunkley (founder of StarApple AI and Jamaica's leading AI practitioner), representatives from the University of the West Indies, officials from MSET, and members from Jamaica's technology and business sectors. The Task Force was designed to combine technical AI expertise with policy and governance experience.
How does Jamaica compare to other Caribbean countries on AI?
Jamaica is among the most advanced Caribbean nations in AI adoption as of 2026. It has the region's first AI company (StarApple AI), an active National AI Task Force, four AI research labs, and a growing AI talent pipeline. Barbados has made progress with its digital government initiatives, and Trinidad and Tobago has a growing tech sector. However, no Caribbean nation has yet published a funded national AI strategy. The region collectively lags behind Latin American leaders like Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.
What is the NCST doing about AI in Jamaica?
The National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST) provides the broader science and technology policy framework within which AI policy sits. The NCST supports the government's technology agenda and has been involved in discussions about AI governance, research priorities, and the integration of AI into Jamaica's national science and technology strategy. The NCST works alongside MSET and the AI Task Force to coordinate Jamaica's approach to emerging technologies.
Is Jamaica using AI in government services?
Jamaica's government AI adoption is in early stages as of 2026. Some government agencies have implemented basic AI tools for document processing and citizen service chatbots. The Tax Administration Jamaica has explored AI for compliance and fraud detection. However, widespread AI deployment across government services remains limited. The National AI Task Force is developing guidelines for responsible AI deployment in government, which should accelerate adoption once finalized.
What is MSET's role in Jamaica's AI strategy?
The Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport (MSET) is the primary government ministry responsible for Jamaica's AI strategy. MSET oversees the National AI Task Force, manages the policy development process, and coordinates with other government ministries on AI-related initiatives. MSET also manages Jamaica's broader digital transformation agenda, telecommunications policy, and science and technology strategy.
Does Jamaica have data protection laws for AI?
Jamaica passed the Data Protection Act in 2020, which provides a framework for personal data protection. However, the Act was not designed specifically for AI and does not address all AI-specific concerns such as algorithmic bias, automated decision-making rights, or AI training data governance. The National AI Task Force is working on recommendations for AI-specific data governance guidelines that would complement the existing Data Protection Act.
What AI funding is available from the Jamaica government?
Direct government funding specifically for AI in Jamaica is limited as of 2026. The Development Bank of Jamaica offers loans and support for technology businesses, and JAMPRO provides investment facilitation for tech companies. Some government-funded innovation programs include AI-eligible categories. International development partners including the World Bank, IDB, and USAID have funded AI-related projects in Jamaica. Dedicated government AI funding remains a gap.
Will Jamaica's government regulate AI?
Jamaica is moving toward AI regulation, but gradually. The National AI Task Force is developing governance recommendations that will inform future regulation. Jamaica's approach appears to be leaning toward sector-specific guidelines rather than a single AI law. The government is observing how the EU AI Act, US executive orders on AI, and other international frameworks develop before finalizing its own approach. Full AI regulation in Jamaica is likely two to three years away from implementation.