Days after releasing its 2025 election manifesto the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has revealed that it has now introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant called Bella to its online platform to allow for easier engagement with the document.

Chair of the JLP’s Manifesto and Achievements Committee Kamina Johnson Smith, who made the announcement during a media briefing on Wednesday, explained that this is part of the party’s way to engage more Jamaicans with the plans it has for the country if given a third term.

She pointed out that the AI assistant referred is fully trained on the party’s achievements and manifesto commitments and is fully aware of the party’s candidates and key information about each candidate.

“The Jamaica Labour Party was 100 per cent serious when we said we wanted to share information with you in new and innovative ways, in ways in which people can engage differently, and we also, again, start to move out of this space where we say… people are not interested in manifestos,” said Johnson Smith.

People engaging with the AI tool on the platform need to sign in, and Johnson Smith said this is necessary to restrict people who go on the platform with nefarious intentions.

“We have all our data-protection mechanisms and privacy rights providers on the website that are needed, and the same OTP [one-time password] system that you use when you are doing your C5 form to return to Jamaica where you just put in your e-mail address, you get an OTP, and you put it in so it verifies that you are a human user. This is what we use for Bella, so you are not registering to create an account but you are registering as a one-time user,” she explained while demonstrating how to use the platform during the press conference.

Johnson Smith underscored that this programme ties in with the party’s unique approach of revealing its manifesto during a mass rally.

“This is why we launched in a different way, at a mass meeting, so more people could actually be engaged, because it is not fair to a population to say that nobody is interested in a manifesto if no one has ever taken it to them in a way in which they might be interested,” said Johnson Smith.

She told the media briefing that the AI assistant was also implemented with the thought of including people with disabilities, specifically the visually impaired, making sure that all Jamaicans are well aware of the party’s plans for the country.

“If people have different accessibility issues and concerns and you never brought those features to your website then you really cannot criticise people for not engaging, and, similarly, if you have innovative tools like
Bella then you really can tap into another level of youth interest and innovative interest for persons who might not even be so interested in the information as the tool, and that’s how you broaden the base of people who are interested in the political process,” she said.