The new AI divide is already here — Guyanese children must not be left behind

Nov 16, 2025 Features / Columnists, News

By Karen Abrams, MBA, AA, UFL Doctoral Candidate

(Kaieteur News) – Something powerful is happening in our classrooms. Every week, I watch young people develop a deeper understanding of artificial intelligence and how it can shape their futures. They study real problems, design solutions and use emerging tools like Vibe Coding to test their ideas. It is a space filled with curiosity, courage and creativity. It is also a reminder that when children are given access to the right environment, they rise.

The new AI divide is already here — Guyanese children must not be left behind

Karen Abrams, MBA, AA, UFL Doctoral Candidate

In a former class, a thirteen-year-old boy stood out. He was bright, thoughtful and naturally curious, but he came to us struggling in school and unsure of his direction. After a few weeks in the programme, he began staying back after class to refine his projects and help younger students understand AI concepts. One day he said, “I didn’t know I was good at this. I just needed somewhere to try.” That one sentence captures exactly why programmes like these matter. Talent cannot grow in silence. It grows in spaces that challenge, support and ignite ambition.

Our education ecosystem must serve the full spectrum of learners. Advanced students need places that stretch them. Struggling students need places that believe in them. Every child needs a path into the future. Well-designed programmes offer that by meeting students where they are and moving them steadily to where they need to be.

Yet beyond these learning spaces, the national picture remains sobering. Roughly 60 percent of children in Guyana do not finish high school. A child who leaves school early enters adulthood with fewer options, lower earning power and limited access to the opportunities emerging in our rapidly changing economy.

Artificial intelligence makes this divide even sharper. AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li reminds us, “The future belongs to those who understand how to harness data and intelligence, not just consume it.” She is right. The children who learn to work with AI today (and I don’t mean just ChatGPT) will be better prepared for the modern workforce, for tertiary training and for the new technical careers opening across the country.

The ones who miss this transformation will face a world that has moved on without them and with the influx of cheap foreign labor entering Guyana, they will be squeezed economically from above and from below. The future looks bleak for those who continue to drop out of school.

This is why I am urging parents to act. Help your children stay in school. Support them through the difficult subjects. Encourage them to build the resilience that learning demands. And when they struggle academically, do not wait until they fall so far behind that education feels out of reach.

Flexible learning programmes like Pathway Online Academy offer AI-supported lessons and structured online tools now make it possible for students who have dropped out, or who are on the edge of dropping out, to catch up at their own pace. It also empowers the average student to become an advanced student. These resources help rebuild confidence, strengthen weak areas and provide a pathway back to mastery. Whether a learner is two months behind or two years behind, the right support can help them re-enter education with a real chance to succeed.

Guyana is experiencing a moment of transformation. All of our children deserve to be part of it. Even if today a child is struggling with numeracy, literacy and has been out of school for a few years, we are willing to work with them because all students deserve the skills that open doors. They deserve the confidence that keeps them in school. And they deserve the future that only a strong educational foundation can provide.

The AI divide is already here. Our responsibility is to make sure our children stand on the side that builds, leads and thrives.

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AI, divide, Doctoral Candidate, Karen Abrams

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