In Jamaica today, conversations about artificial intelligence are no longer reserved for tech conferences in California or lecture halls in London. They are happening in boardrooms in Kingston, in classrooms in Montego Bay, in real estate offices in Mandeville, and even in small entrepreneurial spaces across rural parishes. AI is here. The question is not whether we will encounter it. The question is how we will understand it.
One of the most important truths about artificial intelligence is hidden in plain sight: it is artificial. It simulates intelligence. It does not possess it.
Globally, pioneers in the field have long acknowledged this distinction. Researchers such as Geoffrey Hinton and Peter Norvig have openly described much of modern AI as an “imitation game,” echoing ideas popularised by Alan Turing. The objective is not to recreate human consciousness, but to produce systems that can perform specific tasks that normally require human intelligence.
That difference matters — espe…
