Jamaica’s AI task force is three years old — still no enacted plan
KINGSTON, JAMAICA — Jamaica formed an AI task force in August 2023, completed a UNESCO assessment in April 2026, and is only now beginning to draft a national AI policy.
According to a report from Jamaica Observer, opposition MP Christopher Brown is warning Parliament that the timeline matters: the AI systems capable of replacing Jamaican call center workers are already being tested by global operators.
Jamaica’s BPO sector waits on unfinished AI policy
Brown, opposition spokesman on science, technology and digital transformation, challenged the government during a parliamentary sitting to explain what concrete action has followed nearly three years of task forces and assessments — and what timeline applies to an enacted, funded response.
Jamaica’s BPO displacement threat moved from projected to active in the time between the task force’s formation and the UNESCO assessment — making Brown’s demand for funded action an accountability claim, not just a political challenge.
Jamaica’s BPO workforce is concentrated in voice-based call centre roles — the precise category where AI-powered systems are being actively tested by global operators as a direct replacement for human agents.
“And right now — not in the future — but right now — companies running these call centres globally are testing AI systems that do exactly what she does; faster, cheaper,” Brown said.
Brown demands funded programme, not more task forces
Jamaica’s AI task force was formed in August 2023; a UNESCO assessment was completed in April 2026; and the national AI policy is only now entering the drafting phase — nearly three years after the process began.
Brown’s challenge rested on a personal anecdote — a young Jamaican woman in a call centre, sending money home, whose job is now being replicated by AI systems being tested in real time by global BPO operators.
His demand was specific: not another task force, workshop, or assessment — a named, funded programme with concrete worker protection outcomes.
A government drafting its AI policy in mid-2026, while global operators actively test AI call center replacements, faces a policy lag that cannot be closed by assessment alone.
“What is the concrete plan for that young woman? Not a task force; not a workshop; not another assessment; a specific; funded; named programme,” Brown said.
For BPO operators monitoring Caribbean delivery markets, Brown’s challenge is a leading indicator that political pressure for funded worker protection is building faster than policy formation.
Jamaica’s call center workforce is concentrated in exactly the roles AI is displacing first — the question of who funds reskilling, and when, is now a political accountability question as much as a workforce planning one.
