Chief Justice Bryan Sykes has urged past and present students of Wolmer’s Boys’ School to harness artificial intelligence (AI) to broaden access to knowledge and boost efficiency, even while warning against allowing the technology to erode human judgement, conscience and accountability.

“Students must be equipped to ask whether its use is truthful, fair, and humane. The task is not to choose between tradition and innovation, it is to make tradition the foundation of intelligent innovation,” Sykes told the Wolmer’s Old Boys’ Association’s (WOBA) 120th anniversary awards banquet at Jamaica Pegasus hotel in St Andrew last Saturday night.

“Jamaica needs young people who are technically capable but morally grounded, ambitious but not arrogant, confident in competition but generous in service,” Sykes said, adding that the famous school’s students need more than nostalgia, but additionally “they need the organised commitment of the Old Boys’ Association”.

Arguing that the education students receive in this current AI revolution must remain anchored in discipline, intellectual honesty, courage, courtesy, resilience, and service, Sykes said: “It must also provide digital fluency, creativity, global awareness, and confidence to solve problems that earlier generations did not face”.

The chief justice stated that the judiciary, similar to Wolmer’s, is an institution whose authority must outlast the personalities who serve within it, alluding to the fact that the school was founded in 1729 and that while many principals and administrators have come and gone, the school as an institution nevertheless stands firm.

“The judiciary is a constitutional safeguard, an independent forum in which the citizen may have rights determined. When we speak of judicial independence it is not a privilege for judges, it is a protection for the citizen. It means that the person who enters a court — whether powerful or powerless — should be heard by a tribunal guided by the law and the evidence, not by fear, favour, political direction, private influence, malice or ill will. That independence must be joined with public confidence.

“Confidence is earned by fairness, courtesy, reasoned decisions, integrity, efficiency, and accountability. It is sustained when the public can see that cases are administered seriously and every person is treated with dignity. The judiciary must therefore preserve principle while modernising its administration,” the chief justice pointed out.

Four of six gold awardees together on Saturday after collecting their awards and being recognised for their contribution to the continued development of Wolmer’s Boys’ School. (From left) Professor Evan Dale Abel, Bruce James, KD Knight and Dr John Royes. The other two gold awardees who are not in the photgraph are Ricardo “Bibi” Gardner and Wayne “Marshall” Mitchell. Both Gardner and Mitchell could not make it to the event. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

“The Jamaica Justice System Reform Task Force, chaired by the late Professor Barrington Chevannes, stated in 2007 that judicial independence must have pride of place in reform while calling for a system that is efficient, accessible, accountable, and timely,” Sykes said.

“These aims are complementary, not contradictory. That is why the judiciary must use technology intelligently, reduce avoidable delays, improve access, manage resources responsibly, and remain accountable for its service. The same is true of schools and alumni bodies. Strong institutions are not those that resist every change, they are those that can change without abandoning their purpose. They retain standards while becoming more open, efficient, and responsive. They understand that tradition is not an excuse for complacency, it is a foundation for responsible renewal,” he added.

Highlighting the importance of alumni associations, Sykes said they form part of Jamaica’s civic architecture because the State cannot do everything by itself.

“Strong societies depend upon citizens who organise voluntarily around duty, service and the common good. An alumni association is not simply a social club, it is a civil society at work, a living link among generations and a partner in national development. Goodwill must become scholarships, professional success must become mentorship, networks must become opportunities, and nostalgia must become service,” Sykes urged.

“By the beginning of the 20th century, generations of boys had passed through Wolmer’s, taking with them memories, friendships, discipline, and loyalty to the school that formed them,” the chief justice said.

He stated that on May 4, 1905, that loyalty took organised form in the establishment of the WOBA which essentially “expressed an important idea” as graduation does not end a student’s relationship with his school; it changes it.

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes commanded the attention of these three Wolmer’s Boys’ School sixth-form students at Saturday’s banquet and awards ceremony recognising the 120th anniversary of the Wolmer’s Old Boys’ Association. The ceremony was held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in St Andrew. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

“The boy who becomes a man becomes the alumnus who can mentor. The young man whose name appeared on a class list joins a brotherhood whose duty extends beyond a single cohort. WOBA exists for fellowship certainly, but never for fellowship alone. Its deeper purpose is to turn affection into action. The true measure of an alumni association is not how warmly its members remember the school, it is how faithfully they serve,” Sykes argued.

The awards on Saturday were split into two categories: Maroon and Gold, the official colours of the school.

Maroon Awards went to Kurt Boothe, Andre Grey, Trevor Johnson, Lissant Mitchell, Michael Robinson, and Walter Rodney, while recipients of the Gold Award were Professor Evan Dale Abel, Ricardo “Bibi” Gardner, Bruce James, KD Knight, Wayne “Marshal” Mitchell, and Dr John Royes.

Professor Abel, an endocrinologist, expressed gratitude for the recognition and praised Wolmer’s for shaping him and many others into leading successful lives and careers. He used his message to emphasise the importance of giving back.

“The years we spent at Wolmer’s not only formed us but shaped who we are today. It is very nice to get this award. I have received many awards in my life but one thing I want to say is that none of us did this alone. Everything we have achieved individually or collectively we did it because there were many who lifted us up and held us high,” Abel said.

“We heard the chief justice say very eloquently that Wolmer’s was started as a free school, the point of that being that anyone — irrespective of circumstances, background, class, colour — could come to Wolmer’s and be shaped into an individual who will become a change-maker.

“I remember very well going to Wolmer’s half-a-century ago. One thing I always say is that whatever you achieve, it is really absolutely critical to pay it forward. It is never always about us but perhaps more importantly those who are coming behind us who, in fact I believe very strongly, are going to do better than us. I look across this room and I see the young men in their blazers about to take that step from high school. It is very tough out there and sometimes very scary in terms of what is happening out there in the world, and things that are happening that oftentimes we feel we can’t control, but I do believe very strongly that your time at Wolmer’s has given you the integrity, knowledge, decency and resilience to be change-makers,” Abel said.