Guyana must urgently focus on digitising public records before it can fully embrace the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), argues Karen Abrams, an Education Technology Doctoral Candidate, in a recent opinion piece.
“Before Guyana can leap into the era of artificial intelligence, we must first get our data house in order,” Abrams wrote, stressing that the country’s dependence on paper records is hindering progress. “It is a system designed for frustration and inefficiency.”
Abrams highlighted the critical role of digitisation in transforming national systems, describing it as “nation-building work.” She pointed out that a digital archive could dramatically improve efficiency across sectors — from healthcare and education to land and tax administration.
“Health records, for example, could help doctors track chronic diseases. Land registries could speed up property transfers. Education data could guide teacher training and curriculum reform,” she said.
However, Abrams clarified that electronic systems (e-systems), which enable services like online form submissions and application tracking, are not the same as AI systems. While e-systems improve transparency and reduce reliance on paper, AI requires clean, structured data to function effectively.
“AI doesn’t just store data, it learns from it,” she explained. “But AI can only function effectively when there is clean, structured, and digitised data to learn from. Without that foundation, talk of AI modernisation is premature.”
Abrams cited progress already made by agencies such as the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Immigration Services, calling their digital strides “examples of what is possible.”
Looking abroad, she noted that countries like Estonia, Singapore, and even Rwanda have seen significant benefits from digitisation. “A World Bank study in 2023 found that nations adopting e-government systems, whether or not they include AI, cut administrative costs by up to 45 percent while improving public trust,” she added.
The first step for Guyana, she said, is to ensure every new transaction is recorded digitally, alongside a thorough documentation of internal workflows across government departments. “Every manager should know how long a task takes, who is responsible for each stage, and where bottlenecks occur.”
Abrams believes that once digitization and standardization are complete, citizens will see a dramatic change. “It would mean an end to long lines, lost files, and discretionary favouritism.”
While the possibilities of AI are promising — including fraud detection, predictive analytics, and smart service delivery — she cautioned that “the true transformation begins with something far simpler and more urgent, replacing paper with data.”
Beyond her advocacy for national digitization, Abrams is also the co-founder of STEMGuyana, an organization that has been at the forefront of preparing young Guyanese for the digital age through robotics, coding, and digital literacy programs. Under her leadership, STEMGuyana has earned global recognition, with teams representing the nation in international robotics competitions and positioning Guyana as a rising force in global tech education.
“The future will not wait for us to get ready,” Abrams warned. “The question is whether we will start by doing the hard, disciplined work that makes readiness possible.”
