Artificial Intelligence is suddenly everywhere. New tools appear weekly, headlines swing between excitement and fear, and governments understandably feel pressure to respond.
At first glance, creating a dedicated AI office sounds sensible. It signals seriousness and action. But for Guernsey, I believe a standalone AI office would be a mistake. Not because AI does not matter, but because focusing on AI alone misses the bigger picture.
What we are experiencing is not an ‘AI moment’. It is a period of rapid change driven by many technologies moving forward together.
AI is reducing the cost of thinking work. Tasks like writing, analysing information, coding, designing and tutoring are becoming faster and cheaper. That matters. But AI is only one piece of the puzzle.
Cloud computing means organisations no longer need to own expensive infrastructure. Small teams can now run systems that once required governments or large corporations. Sensors and connected devices mean the physical world is becoming measurable. When something can be measured, it can usually be improved, automated or redesigned.
Robots and autonomous machines are starting to change how work is done in areas like logistics, care, maintenance and transport. Advances in biology are lowering the cost of medical testing, food production and new materials. Manufacturing is becoming more digital, with designs shared like files and production happening closer to home.
Energy is also changing. Cheaper renewables and better storage affect almost everything else, from food prices to transport costs. At the same time, digital networks allow ideas, services and products to reach global markets almost instantly.
Individually, each of these changes is manageable. Together, they reinforce each other. That is why change feels faster, broader and more unsettling than before.
This is why a narrow focus on AI is risky.
Many of the real impacts will not arrive labelled as ‘AI projects’. They will show up as changes in how healthcare is delivered, how children learn, how planning decisions are made, how energy is produced, how services are funded and how government works day to day.
A dedicated AI office risks becoming a silo. It could end up concentrating on tools rather than outcomes, and technology rather than real-world improvements. Meanwhile, the bigger system-wide changes could slip between departmental gaps.
This is not about blame or intent. It is about structure. When responsibility is too narrowly defined, no one is tasked with looking at the whole picture.
What Guernsey needs instead is an approach where innovation is considered across all policies, not parked in one office. Every major decision should ask a simple question: given how fast technology and costs are changing, is this still the best way to do things?
That requires innovation leadership at the centre of government, working across departments and reporting into Policy and Resources. Not a separate AI unit, but a shared responsibility to rethink services, regulation and delivery in light of new possibilities.
AI would still play an important role within that. It should be used, governed carefully and invested in where it adds real value. But always alongside other changes that are reshaping society and the economy.
Guernsey is well placed to do this. We are small enough to adapt quickly, close enough to our public services to improve them meaningfully, and cohesive enough to test new approaches without losing sight of community values.
But those advantages only matter if we design our institutions for the world that is emerging, not the one we are leaving behind.
This is not about resisting progress. It is about making sure progress actually improves daily life for people here.
The real question is not whether Guernsey should take AI seriously. It is whether we organise ourselves in a way that can cope with many changes happening at once.
Getting that right may be one of the most important choices we make in the years ahead.
Marc Winn
Board member of Innovate Guernsey, writing in a personal capacity
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