PM: My generation least equipped for AI

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in Parliament says, people of his generation are among the least equipped to handle Artificial Intelligence (AI).

His made the comment in parliament this week as the Coaltion Government moves to embed AI into civil service training.

Responding to a supplementary question from Opposition MP Premila Kumar whether AI had been factored into the government’s civil service reforms, Mr Rabuka said the generational gap was real.

“I think we are probably the lowest group coping with AI. We ask our grandchildren and they are right into it,” he said.

Ms Kumar had raised the question during debate on the Government’s three-Tier Development First Approach – a reform programme aimed at making Fiji’s public service more efficient, accountable and aligned with the national goal of lifting economic growth from 3.5 per cent to 6 per cent annually by 2050.

Despite the admission, Mr Rabuka said AI was now being incorporated into training at the Civil Service Training Institution in Nasese.

“We have to incorporate those, and they are also part of the planning at the Civil Service Training Institution that we have. It has been absorbed into their training process,” he said.

Speaker Filimone Jitoko noted the issue was timely.

He said Parliament had recently met with New Zealand counterparts on AI developments.

“We were just meeting with some of our New Zealand friends on the AI issue – quite advanced today,” Mr Jitoko said.

AI refers to computer systems that can perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as analysis and decision-making.