Jamaican Consulate in New York Incorporating AI Technology to Enhance Service Delivery

The Jamaican Consulate General in New York will be incorporating the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in its operations to significantly enhance client service delivery.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, says the AI bot, provisionally named ‘Jacob’, is now being tested.

“It’s a closed system. It’s not a system that taps into ChatGPT or any of these broad spaces where people can access data. It’s a private system and one in which our AI bot is being taught the answers to questions,” the Minister disclosed during the Senate’s sitting on October 11.

Senator Johnson Smith, who is Leader of Government Business in the Upper House, said the system is being programmed to answer frequently asked questions

“Directing people to the information on the website is not enough for our population overseas; they want to hear [it]. You can ask him, ‘what do I need to get a visa?’… and what this will do is take calls off the system that take up staff time [and] reduces our ability to respond to calls.

“So, it will help with customer service; it will help with customer satisfaction and it will also use technology positively and demonstrate how it is that innovation and technology can continue to deliver… and how you can use it to solve practical problems that you have,” the Minister outlined.

Noting that the Consulate received more than 2.2 million calls last year, Senator Johnson Smith pointed out that, “no matter how we improve our phone systems, which we have… and it has reduced complaints, we can never staff up to manage 2.2 million calls per year… it is impossible”.

“So the Consul General has been very innovative and has proposed the AI tool to address our calls. I’m very excited about it. It is really one of those things that can be a game changer,” she said.