Next generation of AI 'huge opportunity for island'

The next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) presents a "huge opportunity" for Guernsey's financial services industry and other sectors, a technology expert has said.

Harry Powell said new approaches such as multi-agent AI could allow the island to become more competitive internationally.

Multi-agent AI uses different AI accounts - known as agents - to check each other's work, introducing "checks and balances" and drastically reducing mistakes, he said.

Mr Powell said: "Finance requires lots of people, you don't have lots of people, so you're no longer limited by the number of people on your island - the opportunity is huge."

Mr Powell, who has worked with companies like Barclays and Jaguar Land Rover, said the current generation of AI, such as Chat GPT, was good at summarising documents and data but sometimes included inaccuracies or missed things.

Mr Powell said the new approach involved getting AI agents to check each other's work in a similar way to people checking their colleagues' work.

This meant companies and governments could trust AI to "automate processes" and "make decisions", he said.

Mr Powell was in Guernsey to speak about multi-agent AI at the Data and Doughnuts event at La Valette Bathing Pools in St Peter Port.

The event's organiser, Katie Inder, said she could "see so many ways this technology could make life a lot easier and create products that delivered real value".

She said there was a "growing interest" in next-generation AI and an "air of excitement" about other emerging technology on the island.

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