The Caribbean must not be left on the sidelines of the global AI revolution. That was the message delivered by CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Five Islands Campus second annual AI Conference in Antigua and Barbuda. One June 23, day one of the conference, CAF’s Regional Manager for the Caribbean, Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, encouraged the region to take ownership of its digital future by ensuring that AI strategies are ethical, inclusive, and firmly grounded in the Caribbean’s development priorities.
_“We cannot afford to be spectators in this revolution while others define the rules and set the standards,”_ Dr. Richards-Kennedy stated. _“If we want to ensure that AI reflects our values and serves our people, we must be at the table, shaping the frameworks, building the infrastructure, and investing in the talent that will drive our transformation.”_
The UWI Five Islands AI Conference, now in its second year, is an international forum focused on advancing artificial intelligence for sustainable development in the Caribbean. CAF supported the conference for the second consecutive year, this time as title sponsor. The 2025 theme focused on _AI Innovation for Caribbean Sustainability_. It brought together policymakers, academics, youth, development partners, and private sector leaders to explore the opportunities and risks of AI, and to shape a collective response that ensures the region’s voice is present in the global digital dialogue. Dr. Richards-Kennedy commended The UWI Five Islands Campus for leading this important conversation, noting that it brings the global AI dialogue squarely into the Caribbean context.
She stated that while AI is evolving rapidly around the world, Caribbean societies cannot afford to rely on technologies shaped exclusively by foreign datasets and frameworks. _“AI is not neutral,”_ she stated. “ _It does not guarantee fairness. It does not embody or reflect the hopes and aspirations of Caribbean people. AI simply reflects the patterns of the data sets of others, based on their contexts. AI machines are extremely obedient and this, my friends, is what makes them potentially so dangerous, perfecting what they have been taught, codes that amplify and normalise existing inequalities and injustices._ ”
She called for greater investment in resilient digital infrastructure, harmonised policy frameworks, and targeted training for regional policymakers.
CAF launched its comprehensive Roadmap for National AI Implementation in the Caribbean at the conference. The Roadmap, presented by Enrique Zapata, CAF’s Principal Executive for Digital Transformation and AI Coordinator, centres on five pillars: _policy frameworks, infrastructure, public sector transformation, talent development, and responsible AI governance._
_“The region lacks high-performance data centres powered by GPUs [graphics processing units], which are essential for large-scale AI,”_ Zapata noted. _“CAF is actively working with countries to finance such infrastructure and to support sovereign, secure, and inclusive AI ecosystems.”_
_“Latin America and the Caribbean will need to invest in the infrastructure and talent that will power our AI future. We cannot rely solely on imported systems. We need data centers, governance frameworks, and policies built for our realities.”_
Zapata also addressed the importance of hybrid financing models and regional coordination to build scalable, AI-ready digital public infrastructure across small island states.
Over the past six years, CAF has invested USD 2.8 billion in digital infrastructure and digital public services across Latin America and the Caribbean. The Bank’s partnership with The UWI was formalised through a memorandum of understanding signed in February 2023. This collaboration aims to address regional development challenges by working closely across the University’s campuses and CARICOM countries. It focuses on research, innovation, training, knowledge exchange, and advancing science diplomacy to position the Caribbean within the global knowledge economy. To date, key initiatives resulting from this partnership include the launch of the CAF Innovation Series at the St. Augustine Campus. This event gathered experts and students to harness science and innovation as catalysts for development in the Caribbean. Additionally, CAF facilitated the mobilisation of a US$10 million Adaptation Fund grant to enhance flood resilience efforts in Trinidad. The UWI Western Jamaica Campus and CAF also launched a programme focused on promoting Spanish as a foreign language in Jamaica’s tourism sector, with plans for broader regional implementation. Furthermore, training programmes