PM Dr. Friday Warns Governments Not to Be Swept Away by AI Hype 

By Val Matthias. Updated 12:37 p.m., Monday, September 7, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr Godwin Friday has warned Caribbean Governments against adopting artificial intelligence (AI) simply because it is the latest technological trend, saying the focus must remain on solving real problems and improving public services.

Speaking at the opening of a regional workshop on artificial intelligence and public financial management at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Diamond on Monday September 7, Dr Friday said governments must ensure that technology delivers practical benefits rather than becoming an end in itself.

“We must not invent problems simply so that AI could solve them,” the Prime Minister told participants. Instead, he said governments should identify existing weaknesses and determine how emerging technologies can help address them.

Dr Friday said many public financial management systems across the region remain outdated, relying on manual data entry, departmental silos and lengthy reporting processes that can contribute to inefficiency and poor decision-making.

He argued that true digital transformation goes beyond transferring paper-based systems into a digital format and requires governments to redesign the way they work.

The Prime Minister also stressed that artificial intelligence cannot replace human judgement, accountability and ethical decision-making.

“Technology such as AI is an enabler for our public offices. It is not a substitute for human accountability,” he said, adding that no algorithm can fix a fundamentally flawed process or replace professional oversight.

Dr Friday said the issue is particularly important for small island developing states, where limited resources leave little room for waste and inefficiency.
He pointed to the 2021 eruption of La Soufrière and the destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl in 2024 as reminders of the need for more resilient government systems.

The Prime Minister said those events demonstrated how quickly natural disasters can disrupt government operations, making digital resilience and cyber security as important as physical infrastructure.

He also called on public servants attending the workshop to use the opportunity to improve their effectiveness and contribute more meaningfully to their organisations.

The workshop, which runs from September 7 to 11, is being hosted by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund and the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre, CARTAC. It has brought together public financial management officials and information technology practitioners from small island developing states across the Caribbean.

The programme will examine how governments can modernise financial management systems, improve efficiency and responsibly incorporate artificial intelligence into public sector operations.

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