IT’S been a few years since I first sat in a Kingston boardroom, mapping out workflow improvements. Today, I find myself at another crossroads: the dawn of artificial intelligence (AI). Across the globe, AI promises to be as revolutionary as the steam engine once was — unlocking creativity, automating cognitive tasks, and generating an estimated $4.4 trillion in productivity gains for corporations alone. Yet despite its promise, only one per cent of organisations worldwide, according to McKinsey, has now achieved “AI maturity,” where the technology is fully integrated and driving real business outcomes.

The readiness gap: Employees ahead of leadership

In Jamaica’s vibrant workplaces — from call centres in Montego Bay to financial services in Kingston — our people are already experimenting with generative AI (GenAI). McKinsey’s research (McKinsey & Company, 2025, Superagency in the Workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential) shows employees use GenAI for 30 per cent or more of their tasks at three times the rate leaders estimate. Yet many executives remain unconvinced. This disconnect creates a dangerous “readiness gap”: staff are eager to adopt, but leadership hesitates, fearing security lapses and unclear returns on investment.

Where does Jamaica stand today?

Yet according to Oxford Insights’ 2023 Government AI Readiness Index, Jamaica scored 50 out of 100, placing third among 16 Caricom countries — behind the Dominican Republic and The Bahamas — yet still below the global average of roughly 60 ict-pulserepositorio.cepal. Within the three index pillars, Jamaica ranks highest in the Government pillar, reflecting progress on a national AI strategy, but lags in the technology sector and data & infrastructure pillars, underscoring gaps in local AI start-up ecosystems, digital infrastructure, and data availability.

Training and incentives: Bridging the support divide

In the internationally focused McKinsey report, nearly half of employees rank formal training as the single most important factor for successful GenAI adoption — but almost half of the report receiving only moderate or minimal support from their organisations. Compounding this, incentives such as performance bonuses or recognition programmes to encourage AI experimentation remain scarce. In Jamaica’s competitive job market, without clear pathways for skill development and tangible rewards, the brightest talent may look elsewhere for AI-enabled careers.

Security and trust: A double edged sword

Cybersecurity, data privacy, and model accuracy top employees’ list of AI concerns — over 50 per cent cite these risks as barriers to use. Yet paradoxically, 71 per cent of workers trust their own employers more than universities or tech giants to deploy AI responsibly. This trust is Jamaica’s asset: our leaders must honour it by implementing robust governance, real-time monitoring, and clear communication around AI safety protocols. Where are we on ISO IEC 27001 Governance Compliance Standards implementation?

A call to rewire Jamaica’s enterprises for national

To move from cautious experimentation to transformative impact, Jamaican businesses should adopt McKinsey’s Rewired Enterprise Framework.

1)Business led digital road map

Define a clear AI vision aligned with national goals — whether boosting tourism services, modernising agriculture, or enhancing financial inclusion. A shared road map unites stakeholders and guides investment decisions.

2)Talent

Invest in on-the-job AI training and create incentives — certifications, hackathons, and career path bonuses — to upskill the workforce. Partner with universities and tech hubs in Kingston and beyond to cultivate local AI expertise.

3)Operating model

Break down silos by forming cross functional “AI pods” where technologists, compliance officers, and business leaders co design solutions. This federated governance accelerates deployment while managing risk.

4)Technology

Leverage modular AI architectures and cloud platforms to avoid vendor lock in. Jamaican firms can pilot lightweight large language models (LLM) for customer service chatbots, then scale successful models across departments.

5) Data & AI

Ensure access to high quality, privacy compliant data. Establish meta data standards for transparency and adopt third-party benchmarks — like Stanford’s Holistic Evaluation of Language Models (HELM) — to measure fairness and performance.

6) Activation & scaling

Move beyond pilots. Tie AI initiatives to clear key performance indicators — revenue uplift, cost reduction, customer satisfaction — and dedicate “scale teams” to replicate proven use cases across the enterprise.

7) Value creation and innovation

All improvements must be centred on involving people at its core. AI is an innovation and should be treated as such; it could lead to phenomenal development or become a huge financial risk. Focus all solutions on high-end solutions that will benefit your businesses.

8) Workforce management planning

AI will disrupt the workforce this is a nature of the beast. To successfully combat this potential risk retraining and redeployment will become a major risk and deterrent to development. However, if handled wisely this fork in the road could be a lynch pin that moves us forward as a people.

By embracing this rewired approach, Jamaican businesses can transform isolated experiments into island wide AI ecosystems — driving efficiency in logistics, personalising tourist experiences, and modernising public services.

Leadership’s moment to act

Our people have shown remarkable adaptability and trust. Now, it’s up to CEOs, ministers, and board chairs to match that readiness with bold commitments. Allocate budgets for training and incentives. Communicate transparently about security measures. And set ambitious targets: a fully AI mature Jamaica by 2027.

I invite Jamaica’s AI Council, business leaders, policymakers, and innovators to join me on this journey. Let’s harness AI’s superagency to empower our workforce, strengthen our economy, and secure Jamaica’s place at the forefront of the digital era. Let’s go for a walk into the future together.

Horatio Morgan is an accomplished AI Solutions architect in the business transformation area. Connect with him at horatiomorgan37@gmail.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/horatiomorgan/.