WITH artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly reshaping how people consume information, Jamaicans are being urged to improve their digital literacy after a recent national study found that only 30 per cent of the public had any familiarity with deep fakes and misinformation.

The study was carried out by researchers at Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) at The University of the West Indies, Mona, and surveyed 1,072 Jamaicans across all 14 parishes between October and December 2025.

Participating in a panel discussion with lead researchers and other stakeholders at the launch of the report on Tuesday, Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica (BCJ) Executive Director Cordel Green noted that as the world becomes more digitised, it was a major risk to fall vulnerable to misinformation.

“The Broadcasting Commission, from 10, 15, nearly going 20 years ago, had proposed that the best response in the digital age wouldn’t be about developing regulations or thinking about a paternalistic approach to harm… We have long argued that the most important regulatory tool in the digital age is actually digital media and information literacy,” Green said in response to a question from director of SALISES Professor Lloyd Waller about how Jamaicans could fortify themselves against the misuse of AI.

Waller pointed to the study’s findings that Jamaicans not only had low familiarity with deep fakes but also only six per cent of the populace had formal training in the operation of AI technology.

According to Waller, while Jamaican cybersecurity was not observed to be challenged by AI so far, the study revealed a high vulnerability to scams, deep fakes, and Internet hoaxes.

In his response, Green argued that a part of the challenge is, “we are even now talking about artificial intelligence and it is developing so rapidly that we have to put our hubris in check because the AI we are talking about today is not the AI we are going to talk about in another five years”.

Green added that the world of technology is rapidly evolving, with the near future even possibly dabbling in the combination of neuroscience and AI, which he called the mother of all transformation.

“We are focused a lot on artificial intelligence and there are some people like Elon Musk who are very much loving that focus because on the other end they are developing neuro-technology which is the last bastion of human freedom. There are incursions taking place,” said Green.

The BCJ head warned that the Government and Jamaicans needed to prioritise digital literacy so that human integrity is not lost through technological advancement.

Consistent with Green’s argument, the study calls for the Government to launch national literacy campaigns and integrate AI education into the curriculum through agencies like HEART Trust/NSTA to provide the public with the technical skills needed to identify algorithmic manipulation.

It also recommends the establishment of AI learning hubs to function as a vital resource for those in low-income or rural areas who may otherwise be excluded from critical digital safety information.

Beyond individual education, 81 per cent of Jamaicans support strict Government regulation and oversight as a necessary deterrent against the misuse of AI for identity theft and the spread of misinformation.

The study also emphasises that Jamaicans want human accountability to remain central, with AI used in a supplementary capacity so that critical decisions and information can be verified by human oversight to prevent errors.