Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to "scale up" Trinidad and Tobago Carnival and there is also the threat of being left behind by other carnivals, said Leslie Lee Fook, leading data transformation strategist and educator in the Caribbean.
Lee Fook will be delivering the keynote address The Emergence of AI as a Ubiquitous Tool at Queen's Hall Together AI Symposium on September 18.
Speaking to Newsday in a telephone interview, he said "AI is both the biggest threat and opportunity to us.
"I feel we are not taking advantage of it."
[caption id="attachment_1035405" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Keynote speaker Leslie Lee Look.-[/caption]
He said while AI is not new, recently generative AI, such as ChatGPT, presents significant differences from what came before. He explained the landscape had changed in the last couple of months in three ways, namely: the barriers to access are so low from a cost perspective that anyone can get access; the learning curve is little to none; and there is very broad capability and it can be applied to "pretty much anything."
"Once you can use Google you can use these engines. And for those reasons (I) believe it is there to stay."
Lee Fook said he has been speaking about AI for a very long time and has conducted trainings and workshops across the Caribbean. He added that this year "everyone is talking about AI" and he will be making his keynote address an immersive experience for people to more tangibly understand what it is.
On the benefits of AI and Carnival, he explained it can be used to scale up Carnival in unprecedented ways. He said bands like Tribe have already embraced AI.
On the threats, Lee Fook said every large metropolitan city was adopting AI and many had some form of carnival such as Toronto's Caribana, Notting Hill, and Miami Carnival.
"They can quickly scale faster than us."
Queen's Hall general manager Garfield George said last year Queen's Hall began hosting its own productions as a fundraiser and held the gala, Together.
"After the pandemic, we felt it was an opportunity to bring clients, patrons and staff back together. Hence the name 'together.'"
For this year, the board felt Republic Day was an ideal opportunity to celebrate togetherness not only as a people "but what makes Queen's Hall, Queen's Hall."
George recalled the board wanted to continue with the theme of togetherness for 2023 and showcase the versatility of Queen's Hall, St Ann's as a space by moving from a gala fete to an educational symposium.
He noted that Queen's Hall falls under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts and one of the ministry's thrusts is to market this country as not only a destination for culture but for meetings and conferences.
[caption id="attachment_1035403" align="alignnone" width="768"] Queen's Hall general manager Garfield George. -[/caption]
"We want to support that thrust."
Together on AI
On the topic of AI, he explained the board felt the subject has created a lot of buzz around the world and was very important to the cr
