…as local stakeholders introduced to exponential technologies
Government has brought in a technology expert to sensitise local Private and Public Sector stakeholders on the importance of technology in developing a small economy like Guyana.
Addressing the gathering of Information, Communication and Technology (ITC) stakeholders at the Marriott Hotel on Wednesday, Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes said that the Administration was committed towards building a government, which is heavily based on using technology.
Government partnered with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to host technology expert, Dr Nicholas Haan, to deliver a presentation on exponential technology.
According to Minister Hughes, the more ICT is included in the way in which business is transacted, services are provided, and citizens are served, then the better and faster Guyana is going to be transformed. She went on to mention how
Dr Nicholas Haan delivering his presentation on exponential technologies
“extremely exhausting” it can be to access the various services provided by the State on conducting businesses.
Access to the Internet and broadband connectivity is considered a human right today. In this regard, Minister Hughes posited that Guyana was making headway, having already provided 157 secondary and primary schools with Internet access as well as establishing 119 ICT hubs across the country.
There is no doubt that Guyana is behind in technological advancement and at Wednesday’s forum, stakeholders from both the Private and Public Sectors were introduced to the concept of exponential technologies (ET) and its importance in developing small economies like Guyana.
Dr Haan is Track Chair and Vice President of Impact at Singularity University (SU), which is a Silicon Valley think tank that offers educational programmes and serves as a business incubator.
During his presentation, he pointed out that in recent years, there have been major technological transformations, which have created opportunities for agencies to rethink the way they serve people.
“Humanity is currently witnessing, at this very time, a major transformation never, ever seen before; a transformation into a digital era where every single one of our social systems – our food system, our energy system, our health system, our government system, etc – every single one of those is being transformed by technology and other global trends. This creates incredible opportunities if you’re leading a corporation or if you’re an entrepreneur, and it creates incredible opportunities for Governments around the world to rethink the way to best serve the populace,” Dr Haan posited.
He went on to talk about how exponential technology has advanced and developed over recent years to create new concepts such as artificial intelligence programmes that operate in real time with no human control and 3D printing.
IDB’s Senior Specialist on State Modernisation, Mariko Russell, said the idea behind hosting this presentation was to highlight how accessible and beneficial exponential technologies can be for local enterprises.