PJ Patterson Institute, Afreximbank collaborate for a digital future
Africa and the Caribbean must face a decisive moment: build their own digital future or become forever digital servants in someone else’s empire. This is the resounding message coming from the PJ Patterson Institute, which continues to advocate for a sustainable place in the global affairs of technologies and AI dominance.
The strong call also follows the recently held symposium on “Educational Transformation in Africa and the Caribbean,” held at the University of the West Indies. “We dare not wait patiently for the developed and powerful to decide our fate according to their national interest,” declared PJ Patterson, former prime minister of Jamaica and Statesman-in-Residence.
Thus, the PJ Patterson Institute for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy will implement an AI-powered pilot project to enhance education and promote development and prosperity in both regions. The Stateman-in-Residence made the announcement during the celebration of his 90th birthday at the PJ Institute at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies on the weekend of April 12, 2025.
According to the former prime minister, the PJ Patterson Institution is working tirelessly to complete the planning and execution of a pilot project for an AI center that would promote research, education, technical advancement, and the growth of new industries in Africa and the Caribbean.
Patterson said the formal establishment and collaboration with Afreximbank will be declared in early June 2025.
The former prime minister further emphasized that education “has to be catapulted as the most formidable weapon in our arsenal for progress in a world where we have been, for ages, victims of human savagery and exploitation of our natural resources.”
He noted that the PJ Patterson Institute has determined that this crisis of catastrophic uncertainties and worldwide turmoil “oblige us to make these the best times and no longer the worst.”
In continuing to demonstrate the need to develop the tools to revolutionize this transformation for future generations,
Patterson added, “As we build on the rich heritage of our pioneering advances in mathematics, medicine, architecture, and philosophy, we must not shirk the challenges to empower this and future generations with the tools to navigate and shape the global technological landscape.”
Patterson urged the audience and told them there was no choice. “Our jobs must include high-value-added outputs and the use of our natural resources as equity investments in global initiatives.”
Not mincing words, Patterson said that the next world war will not be with guns but with code. “We dare not wait patiently for the developed and powerful to decide our fate according to their national interest.”
Patterson noted that the effort is symbolic of the Caribbean’s relationship with Africa, “deliberately designed by us as free people of sovereign nations.”
In collaboration with Afreximbank, an AI Hub will be finalized to advance education, research, and technological innovation across both regions.
“It will be grounded on recognizing our capacities, endowments, overlaps, and comparative advantages. It will reflect our determination to occupy and enjoy our rightful place on the single planet where all humankind must equitably share and inhabit together in its stewardship to dwell in peace and prosperity, Mr. Patterson concluded.
