ST JAMES, Jamaica — Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley is calling for a Caricom authentication process mechanism to tackle fake news and the misuse of AI, since platform providers are not doing enough to ensure information is truthful.

She made the appeal during her remarks at the opening ceremony of the 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James on Sunday.

“We live in a world now where fake news, regrettably, is a key part of all that we have, and where the improper use of AI can sometimes stoke great fear and panic among our citizens. It is about time, therefore, that we as a region come up with a Caricom validation mechanism in the absence of the providers of those platforms not taking the action to validate truth any further,” Mottley appealed.

“And if we fail to do so, we put seriously at risk the stability of our democracies,” she added.

In validating the call, Mottley made reference to two recent incidents involving the circulation of disinformation in her native country.

“In the last two weeks alone, my government in Barbados has had to put out as clear fake news: one that sought to ban President Trump from our country; one that sought to impose on Barbados travel advisories that didn’t exist,” she revealed.

“And it is almost as if this is a daily exercise now for our countries, because those who have nothing to do, as we’ve learned as children-the devil finds work for idle hands. We need our own Caricom blue tick to validate truth in this community,” she stressed.

— Horace Hines