Politicians praise AI summit, say States and business must move fast

Saturday 01 July 2023

Work should start now on preparing for the AI future, but one deputy has suggested that innovative solutions should not be proposed by the government.

Deputies Heidi Soulsby, the former Vice-President of Policy & Resources, and Victoria Oliver, President of the Development & Planning Authority, were in the audience for a wide-ranging summit on artificial intelligence held locally this week.

The pair told Express they are excited by both the opportunities which AI affords and the possibility of a small jurisdiction like Guernsey quickly adopting the technology in business and government.

“There's a lot of talk about the risks for it and yes, we need to make sure we have proper regulation, but I think Guernsey traditionally has been fleet afoot. And I think this is such a change in the world that it's something that Guernsey can really take advantage of in a way that larger jurisdictions can't,” Deputy Soulsby said.

But she added that government and industry need to move quickly from now to meet the pace of change.

“We're small, we can bring people together, and I think we need to move on it now because six months down the line, it will be too late. We're just seeing how quickly things are moving at the moment.

“We've got to do it quickly and really drive it forward because we've got that opportunity now with such skillful people on the island to really take it forward.

“I think a lot of people here, who are really intelligent people, who are saying; what are the opportunities, what are the threats, and how do we deal with them.”

Pictured: Around 350 people attended the GFSC and Guernsey Finance AI summit this week. Credit: Chris George Photography.

Deputy Soulsby thinks certain government processes could be sped up or replaced by automation, which she said was pertinent at a time where the public sector is seeking to reduce expenditure and improve efficiency.

This includes the writing of policy letters and formal legislation: ““We do things in such a slow analog way,” she said. 

“Government needs to look at itself but does also need to look at how it can work and enable Guernsey to be agile in this field.” 

Both deputies accepted that government is often slow to react to any change in the world, however.

Deputy Soulsby said: “All governments are usually the ones that are last to the table. but it can't be government that thinks it's got the answers because it absolutely hasn't in this space. And this is why I think we need a real collaborative approach to this where people bring the people together."

Deputy Oliver echoed this: “As with all governments, I think governments actually lag behind in actually trying to set the regulations - and you're setting a regulation for something that you don't know what it's going to be in a few years' time, which makes it very difficult."

That uncertain outlook can make short-term planning difficult, but already some States departments are seeking to automate processes, including the DPA, she added.

“I think many people will be probably sick of me talking about this, but we are getting a new platform which is going to be a lot more automated. It’s been a long time coming and finally I had a meeting last week and it actually looks promising that it should be in place by the end of this year,” Deputy Oliver said.

“It will just speed up registration from a three-week process to literally a click of the button, which will just be fantastic for us and it's more of a bonus for our users.

“This will free up a little bit of officer time... but the overall goal is it will be better for the customers to use.”

Pictured (top): Deputies Heidi Soulsby and Victoria Oliver.

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