Responding to an amendment lodged by Deputy Tom Rylatt for this week’s Government Work Plan States debate, Patrick Cunningham, a director of Indulge Media, a digital agency working primarily in the financial services sector, said that organisations were keen today to use AI for fears of being left behind, but did not always understand how and when it can be used effectively.
‘AI tools have become significantly better at writing code in the last six months or so, progress has moved so quickly, it is now starting to completely transform the whole software development workflow,’ he said.
‘In context of government, it could be a really powerful piece of bespoke software that sorts out some troubles the States has, such as the tax office. With a team of AI-fluent developers, it could be solved.’
The amendment proposes the creation of an AI office, for the States to look into how best to co-ordinate AI developments in the Bailiwick.
But Mr Cunningham said a team of production staff using AI to build software could be also be effective.
‘It would still be a traditional software development team, designers, a manager and some developers,’ he said.
‘If they’re all using AI effectively, then software they produce will be much better quality.
‘One immediate opportunity for huge productivity gains is using AI to accelerate finding a solution to IT problems they have.’
He said that there should be some encouragement from Guernsey’s government to use AI and to help people learn about it.
Jersey offers a productivity grant which is catalysing AI projects across the island, which was something that Guernsey could look to implement too, he said.
Mr Cunningham said that some people were fearful of AI, as it was judged a lot based on the first iterations that came into the public domain, but it had progressed considerably since.
Some conceptions are that AI will replace human jobs.
He said some industries have been impacted, such as copywriting and translation.
‘The harsh reality is that AI can do a lot of this work to a reasonable standard and this is reflected by a lot of change in the sector,’ he said.
But not all industries will be impacted in this way.
‘The real killer application right now for AI is writing code,’ he added.
‘The immediate assumption is suddenly there will be 1,000 software developers out of work, but if anything I think developers are getting busier because they’re able to build so much more and so much faster with AI. They’re offering a lot more value to people they work for and to clients as a result.’
In terms of Guernsey’s finance industry, he said the main risk was other jurisdictions using AI more effectively to deliver better value, making Guernsey less competitive.
‘I don’t think AI will undermine the industry directly in the way that it’s undermined copywriting because it’s just so nuanced and complex, and personal relationships are so important in the industry,’ he said.
‘Technology isn’t advanced enough currently to start swapping out actual fund administrators and compliance officers.
‘It’s down to firms themselves to choose whether to take AI seriously, but encouraging that journey can also address people’s concerns and worries.’
Mr Cunningham said that he has been approached by politicians for his experience and ideas on using AI in Guernsey.
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