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On March 22, 2024, Vanuatu celebrated World Consumer Rights Day.  The focus of the event was on the topic of Artificial Intelligence, or “AI”.  I was invited as one of the panel experts to discuss where AI may be headed and the impact of future change to business and country strategies. I do not consider myself an expert, but I have done enough work in this space before coming to Vanuatu.  Undeniably, in the tapestry of global innovation and connected economies, AI has emerged as a thread interwoven with the promise of national transformation - particularly in small population settings like the Pacific. The narrative of AI in the Pacific islands is not just about embracing the technology. It is about charting a new course towards improved sustainable development and resilience in the face of the common shortage we all share in the Pacific to advance into modern economies which is – people - a highly sought after resource in every sector and industry.

 

Working with the World Health Organization, I have seen firsthand how AI can improve health services without the need for more humans. For instance, telemedicine with AI-enhanced diagnostics, can make healthcare accessible to everyone, including those living in remote islands. In many cases, AI’s efficiency and accuracy is better than that of radiologists and pathologists due to AI’s ability to detect anomalies in medical images with high precision, often identifying issues that are challenging for the human eye to catch.  AI can also predict disease outbreaks due to its ability to process and analyze vast amounts of data and identify patterns, including correlations not obvious to humans. It can build predictive models forecasting future disease spreads taking into consideration, biological, environmental, and social factors to make accurate predictions about where and when an outbreak might occur. As Vanuatu commits to its One Health agenda to ensure the well-being of our people, animals, and environment, we are already heading down this path.

 

On a much simpler scale, AI can assist with better patient record keeping – a chronic challenge seen throughout Pacific countries where manual processes and paper records make it difficult to track patient encounters with the health system with any accuracy and completeness. Paradoxically, good quality data is foundational and a key building block for effective use of AI downstream and into the future. Therefore, good quality data through good record keeping, even if done manually, needs to be fixed first above everything else. As the adage goes, “Garbage in, garbage out”.  Proper record keeping, regardless of sector and industry, is not what we excel at.  This is a key discipline we need to adopt as a first step.

 

Other sectors benefit as well with AI. Education, one of the cornerstones of national progress, can use AI to tailor curriculums to help adapt, respond, and evolve together with the student to dissolve barriers such as learning disabilities and remoteness. Climate change and mitigation, through predictive analysis, can save lives and safeguard livelihoods by predicting climate impacts. AI has also been used to intelligently secure borders and to strengthen efficiencies in trade. The list of benefits is endless.

 

However, Vanuatu, like the rest of our island state neighbours across the Pacific, will always struggle with government and business services delivery, and consequently to stay abreast with economic growth, due to our small population, limited talent pool, and digital constraints such as the lack of reliable and affordable Internet.

 

Going back to the celebration of World Consumer Rights in downtown Port Vila. In my opinion, what stole the spotlight, was the debate amongst bright young high school students putting forward their views for or against the use of AI.  I marvel at kids these days being extremely knowledgeable.  Thanks to the power of the Internet. At the end of the debate, the “for AI” team won by a margin. All students had good points. But as one of the students said, “You can’t put the toothpaste back into the tube”. Whatever metaphor you use, there is no doubt AI is here to stay. Pacific countries, cradled by our vast blue ocean, could be on the brink of a digital renaissance, so long as governments take a holistic approach in putting in place the following: a reliable and affordable digital and power infrastructure, an enabling legal framework addressing individual data and privacy concerns, and the development of a comprehensive national AI strategy to address healthcare, education and human capital development, environmental protection and climate change, and economic growth – all challenges faced in Pacific countries. The lack of reliable coverage and high cost of connectivity across Vanuatu is a primary issue we are faced with and is a barrier to adoption.

 

One final note.  Will AI replace humans?  This has been the “go to” counter argument against AI. For curiosity and fun, I decided to go on ChatGPT to get its definition of AI.  This is what ChatGPT returned for an answer, “AI … refers to the capability of a computer … to mimic the intelligence of humans. This includes the ability to learn, reason, perceive, and make decisions to solve problems or perform tasks that typically require human intelligence”. Reflecting on the machine’s response, take comfort that AI is not an imminent threat in surpassing human intelligence. Why?  Simply because human instinct knows so much more than intelligence, and our intuition is far smarter than reason.  It is all about perspectives. Let us look at AI as a tool to augment human capacity, not to replace it.

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