A Wake-Up Call Caribbean Businesses Could Not Ignore
“You should be scared.”
It was not the kind of statement typically delivered at a business conference, far less one focused on innovation and opportunity. Yet those were the words that cut through the room as Kemal Brown, CEO of the Digita Global Group Inc, addressed attendees at the recent Transcend AI Consulting AI and the Future of Work Business Conference.
While many speakers leaned into the promise of Artificial Intelligence, efficiency, growth, and transformation, Brown took a different approach. He offered a reality check.
Globally, he noted, disruption is not coming; it is already here. Industries are being reshaped, roles are being redefined, and in many cases, jobs are being displaced. The Caribbean, he argued, will not be exempt from these shifts. If anything, smaller, more open economies like Jamaica may feel the effects more acutely as global competition intensifies.
His message was not rooted in alarmism, but in urgency. Fear, in this context, was not something to be avoided; it was something to be acknowledged and then acted upon.
The Need For Awareness
“Fear creates awareness,” Brown said in effect, urging the audience to confront the implications of AI head-on rather than soften the narrative. This perspective stood in contrast to the general sentiments in the room. Nadine Seaga, who emphasised the human dimension of AI adoption, culture, empathy, and workforce transition, provides a good counterweighted perspective. But where Seaga focused on preservation, Brown focused on adaptation. At the core of his argument was a simple but uncomfortable truth: the workforce must evolve, or it will be left behind.
Damion Miller’s contribution was infrastructural, emphasising that the Caribbean is not as far behind as it thinks, and encouraged swift and secure adoption.
Dmitri Dawkins spoke to the importance of cost management and the separation between automation and true agentic AI. Together, the viewpoints painted a fuller picture: AI is both a technological and human challenge.
Brown warned that without deliberate upskilling and reskilling, Jamaica risks widening its existing economic divides. As AI automates routine and even complex tasks, those without the skills to complement these systems may find themselves excluded from emerging opportunities. The result, he suggested, could be a deeper polarisation of the workforce between those who can leverage AI and those who cannot.
This is not a distant scenario. Across global markets, companies are already using AI to accelerate decision-making, reduce operational costs, and scale faster than ever before. That acceleration, Brown argued, is what makes this moment particularly critical. “It’s not just the technology,” he emphasised. “It’s the speed.”
The Business Imperative
For Caribbean business leaders, the implication is clear: this is a “sink or swim” environment. Organisations that integrate AI into their operations, strategically and decisively, will gain a competitive edge. Those that hesitate risk being outpaced, not just by international players, but by more agile firms within the region. Yet, despite the stark framing, Brown’s message was not without optimism. If fear is the starting point, courage is the response.
He challenged individuals and organisations alike to embrace a mindset of continuous learning, one that goes beyond acquiring new skills to include the willingness to unlearn outdated approaches and relearn in alignment with a rapidly changing environment.
This, he suggested, is how the region can avoid turning a skills gap into a broader employment crisis.
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