An initiative aimed to upskill the community on the Isle of Man on the use of artificial intelligence has been launched.
The organisers of the 鈥楢ctivate AI鈥� programme hope it will boost the island鈥檚 GDP by 10 per cent by 2030 using AI solutions across public and private sectors.
Activate AI has been supported by the Economic Strategy Board and will begin with the launch of a new free training platform,听, which will provide over 200 hours of online training for all members of the community with an 鈥楢I for everyone鈥� approach to content.
Lyle Wraxall, chief executive officer of Digital Isle of Man, commented: 鈥淭he Activate AI programme is an exciting initiative for Digital Isle of Man, enabling us to work with the local community to empower and share knowledge and applications of AI which have the potential to increase productivity and skills across the economy.
鈥淎I is a rapidly evolving technology with a vast range of applications, and its landscape is changing daily. That鈥檚 why our first phase is focused is on educating, and helping our community become more comfortable with the technology at a fundamental level.
鈥淭hrough our Memorandum of Understanding with AI Singapore we have secured our residents and businesses access to the best products, services and expertise to harness AI鈥檚 potential and boost productivity on a national scale.
鈥淭his is just the beginning of our journey in this space, and I look forward to working collectively with the community to continue to evolve our proposition and explore its full potential.鈥�
Tim Johnston MHK, Minister for Enterprise, added: 鈥淭he long-term economic strategy sets out a vision to create a more secure, vibrant and sustainable future for the Isle of Man.
鈥淭his includes significant economic ambitions and shifts such as growing our GDP, increasing jobs, enhancing infrastructure and services, and prioritising sustainability targets.
鈥淭he Activate AI programme supports all of these ambitions, and signals an active investment into skills, productivity and our businesses as we seek to leverage existing advantages and further enable innovation across our entire economy by making this technology as accessible as possible for our residents and businesses.鈥�
For local businesses, Digital Isle of Man will be launching an听applied AI service听enabling them to work with activation partners to explore AI growth opportunities and submit problem statements to develop AI solutions to be trialled.
The applied AI service will commence with the opening of expressions of interest for experienced local individuals to become activation partners who will support businesses to drive forward AI-based solutions and proof of concepts (trials) to solve business problems using AI technology.
Following the appointment of activation partners, local businesses will be able to sign up through Digital Isle of Man鈥檚 website to begin the process which will enable them to work with activation partners to realise the value of AI within their business and implement tangible solutions free of charge.
The applied AI service will be headquartered at the听‘AI Activation Centre’听in Douglas, offering a physical space for businesses to work with activation partners.