A new multi-stakeholder body has been established to bring together the expertise of industry, public sector and regulatory bodies and support the effective adoption of artificial intelligence technologies in Jersey.
The ‘Jersey AI Council’, chaired by Digital Jersey, will serve as a coordination body to align and amplify AI initiatives across Jersey’s public and private sectors. It will facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing to maximise the benefits and mitigate the risks of AI adoption across Jersey’s overall business landscape and in the wider community.
While the Jersey AI Council has no policy or decision-making mandate, it will create a structure to draw on the collective expertise of its members and advance Jersey’s AI capabilities. It will focus on the following key areas:
- Advocacy and awareness, to promote Jersey’s AI ecosystem locally and internationally with a focus on driving productivity and competitiveness across Jersey’s financial sector and beyond
- Enablement and support, to assess and address barriers to AI adoption and encourage the facilitation of a responsible pro-AI environment, ensuring that AI can benefit all parts of Jersey society
- Technical coordination, to facilitate the sharing of expertise for AI adoption
- Maintaining momentum, to act as the driving force for ensuring the delivery of a shared action plan across all Jersey AI Council member organisations, aimed at accelerating AI adoption
Comprising leading representatives from across the public sector, regulators and industry, the Council will help ensure that Jersey’s AI development is coordinated and impactful. Partner organisations include Digital Jersey, Jersey Finance, the Jersey Financial Services Commission, the Jersey AI Forum, the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner, Government of Jersey and the Institute of Directors.
The Jersey AI Council implements one of the recommendations from a ‘AI Playbook for Jersey’, which is being driven by Digital Jersey and created with the support of local stakeholders and off-island experts including Professor Alan Brown and Dame Wendy Hall. It articulates the need for the Island to be a rapid adopter of AI, and sets out principles to help guide the acceleration of AI adoption in Jersey across the economy, with a particular focus on financial services and the public sector – areas considered to offer the most significant short to medium term opportunities.
Commenting on the formation of the Jersey AI Council, Tony Moretta (main picture), CEO, Digital Jersey and Chair of the Jersey AI Council, said: “Our island stands at a pivotal moment in the AI revolution and, while many businesses and organisations understand the significance of AI and are individually advancing their capabilities, progress is fragmented. We believe we can achieve substantially more if we work together – and this is something that comes out strongly from our work on AI to date.
“We want to ensure Jersey is a rapid and responsible adopter of AI technology. By pooling our collective capabilities, resources and ambitions by creating the Jersey AI Council, which is a key recommendation of our external advisers, we can be joined-up and on the front foot in this dynamic space, ensuring that Jersey is able to address the productivity challenge, mitigate risks around AI, and retain its competitiveness.”
