Preparing Our Children for a Global AI Future will require real investment from the entire village

Jul 27, 2025 News

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From Inequality to Abundance…

By Karen Abrams, MBA, AA, Doctoral Candidate

Kaieteur News – Over the last two decades, Guyana has experienced significant technological advancement, from mobile phones to broadband internet, with mobile phone ownership reaching nearly 100%. Yet the digital divide persists. Access to devices alone is not enough, data must be affordable, coverage must be extensive and reliable, and applications must be relevant to communities across the full spectrum of Guyanese society. For most learners, the tools of innovation have not kept pace with the promises of progress. For too many families, technology has widened the gap between rich and poor, coast and hinterland, urban and rural, private and public schools. I would wager there isn’t a single student in Guyana who has excelled at CSEC or CAPE without making extensive use of online learning resources. So underperformance is not a question of intelligence. What our children lack is real access to the full suite of tools; along with strong adult support, required to excel.

There is already abundance in Guyana. Hundreds of companies are pursuing profits from the oil industry and from the many sectors that stand to benefit from its growth. Significant wealth is here, and in a country this rich, no child should be left behind due to lack of access. But the challenge is more complex. Our experience managing over 40 learning pods across the country has proven how impactful grassroots education initiatives can be. Now that our core funding has ended, we are looking to transition these pods to the stewardship of companies operating in Guyana. Supporting a learning pod is a modest investment, especially when compared to the long-term return: students with strong foundations in math, literacy, and technology. These young people represent the future workforce, problem solvers, innovators, and creative thinkers who will drive operational excellence and give businesses a competitive edge.

We are grateful to MODEC and Scotiabank for sponsoring eight pods between them, but we must ask, where is the rest of the corporate community? The time is now to invest in the future of Guyana.

Artificial Intelligence is now poised to transform everything. It promises abundance: abundance of knowledge, abundance of services, and abundance of opportunities but abundance for whom? If we don’t act, the same patterns will repeat. The elite will benefit first. The rest will be told to “catch up.” That story has played out long enough.

AI can change that. It can be the great equalizer. But only if access is made universal and if ethical frameworks are baked into every layer of our policies, and our parenting. That’s right. Parenting is ground zero for the development of future innovators.

In the AI future, parenting will be the frontline of national development. Children must grow up confident, curious, and capable of navigating a world defined by machine intelligence and human creativity. How do we prepare them?

Start simple. Read to your children. Let them read to you. If neither of you can read, open a picture book and tell the story together. That simple act teaches imagination, vocabulary, and bonding. Confidence doesn’t come from compliments alone; it comes from being heard, seen, and guided. Talk with your children, not just at them. Ask questions. Let them challenge you. Encourage critical thinking, not just obedience.

Our culture too often treats children as beings to be controlled, not minds to be cultivated. We shut down conversations with “because I said so.” We correct without explaining. But in an AI future, memorization won’t matter. Critical thinking will. Emotional intelligence will. Creativity will.

Enroll your child in an academic enrichment program. Pathway Online Academy is one such opportunity. It gives children access to AI-powered lessons, personalized feedback, and structured learning from Grades 1 to 10. Even if you’re working, get Grandma, Uncle, or a responsible neighbor to help monitor their progress. Kids need your attention more than they need your money. The future of Guyana won’t be shaped by oil alone. It will be shaped by the minds we raise today. We simply cannot afford to raise children who cannot read, write, or do math, all the academic foundations that give learners the confidence to achieve any goal.

Our generation made mistakes. We bought into the fantasy that wealth meant progress, while ignoring the growing inequality around us. We focused on consumption, not contribution. Let’s not pass that same blindness to our children. Let’s raise a generation that demands better, not just from their leaders, but from their own potential.

AI is coming, whether we’re ready or not. It will either magnify inequality or dismantle it. That choice is still ours to make. And it begins at home, with a story, a conversation, and the belief that every Guyanese child deserves a future powered by intelligence, not limited by circumstance.

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• CAPE, CSEC, Global AI Future, Karen Abrams, MODEC

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