If you follow global business headlines, you would think artificial intelligence has already rewired the economy. Companies are restructuring, job cuts are being blamed on automation and executives talk about “doing more with less” as if it is a new operating system for work.
Then you look at the evidence and it gets uncomfortable.
Central bankers are publicly admitting they cannot yet see a clear, economy-wide productivity surge from AI. In prepared remarks on 17 February 2026, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said most macro studies still find limited evidence of a significant AI effect and argued policymakers must “dig deep” to understand what is real versus hype.
At the firm level, the story is even more sobering. A newly released working paper using firm data and surveys on AI adoption reports that, so far, measured impacts on employment and sales per worker are modest.
So why does it feel like an AI revolution if the productivity numbers are not yet showing it?
Because we are living through a transition where investment, experimentation and workforce disruption are moving faster than organisational redesign. Deloitte’s 2026 State of AI reporting indicates worker access to sanctioned AI tools rose sharply in 2025, and leaders expect rapid scaling and more autonomous “agents” that can do tasks, not just generate text. That is a shift in capability. But capability does not automatically translate into output.
For T&T, this “AI productivity paradox” is not an academic curiosity. It is a competitiveness issue, a services-export opportunity and a national efficiency test. And it arrives at a time when global growth is steady but fragile, with the IMF projecting global growth around 3.3 per cent in 2026 and highlighting ongoing risks from trade policy and geopolitical disruption.
In other words, we will not get many free passes from the external environment.
Where AI can actually move the needle for local business
AI can improve customer operations and service quality by reducing response times, improving consistency and enabling smarter personalisation. In sectors such as banking, insurance, telecommunications, retail, travel, logistics and utilities, competitive advantage is increasingly driven by experience rather than price. AI can assist with faster responses and earlier issue resolution, but only when embedded within disciplined service models that include structured knowledge bases, clear escalation rules and human accountability. Without process redesign, AI simply accelerates existing inefficiencies.
Compliance, procurement and documentation present another high-impact area. Our economy runs heavily on paperwork: trade documentation, Customs processes, invoices, procurement files, HR administration and regulatory reporting. These activities contain repeatable patterns that AI can support effectively. The benefits are measurable in reduced errors, faster turnaround times and lower operational risk. However, the value materialises only when AI tools are embedded into formal standard operating procedures rather than used informally by a handful of staff.
AI also lowers the barrier to export readiness. High-quality marketing collateral, proposal writing, product documentation, training modules and multilingual content can now be developed more efficiently. This matters for SMEs seeking international markets and for T&T professionals selling services abroad. Used responsibly, AI allows firms to appear polished and globally competitive without overstating capability. The firms that succeed will be those that combine AI-assisted outputs with reliable execution and consistent delivery.
At the more advanced end of the spectrum lies optimisation within energy, manufacturing and logistics. Predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, process control and inventory optimisation are where AI’s economic impact becomes tangible. These applications require data discipline and technical integration, but the payoff can be material. This is where productivity shifts from theory to measurable improvement.
The national risk: uneven adoption and a widening gap
The greatest AI risk for Trinidad and Tobago is not sudden mass unemployment. It is uneven adoption that widens performance gaps between firms.
Global research suggests that while many organisations are expanding access to AI tools, the real gains come from reimagining workflows, governance and accountability rather than simply automating old processes. This distinction is critical locally. If only a minority of firms invest in structured AI capability, they will pull ahead on speed, cost control, quality and export readiness.
The rest will struggle to compete, even within the domestic market.
At a national level, this could produce a two-speed economy: efficient, AI-enabled organisations operating alongside slower, compliance-heavy and paper-driven entities. We already experience this divide in service delivery across institutions. AI has the potential either to close that gap or to deepen it.
A practical agenda for business leaders
For leaders, the priority is not experimentation without direction, but disciplined implementation.
First, AI must be treated as an operating model shift rather than a casual tool. Executive ownership is essential. Clear policies should define acceptable use, confidentiality standards, data handling requirements and quality controls. Without governance, AI adoption introduces reputational and regulatory risk.
Second, firms should identify a small number of high-impact processes and measure results rigorously. Rather than deploying AI everywhere, leaders should select two or three areas where time, error rates and costs are visible, such as customer response workflows, monthly reporting, procurement documentation or tender drafting. Establish baseline metrics, test AI-enabled processes over a defined period and evaluate measurable outcomes. If the benefit cannot be quantified, the initiative remains experimentation rather than transformation.
Third, organisational knowledge must be structured before automation begins. Many AI implementations underperform because internal information is fragmented or inconsistent.
Creating a reliable single source of truth for policies, product information, FAQs, escalation procedures and templates ensures that AI systems amplify clarity rather than confusion.
Managerial capability is equally important. The real leverage lies not in staff access to tools, but in managers who understand workflow design, output validation, risk management and automation thresholds. Without informed oversight, adoption becomes inconsistent and potentially chaotic.
Finally, leaders should anticipate client and regulatory scrutiny. As AI becomes embedded in service delivery, clients will expect transparency regarding data use, verification processes and quality control. Organisations that can clearly articulate their safeguards will build trust more quickly and strengthen competitive positioning.
A wider call to action for T&T
In a global environment characterised by steady but shock-sensitive growth, productivity becomes the quiet determinant of survival and scale. T&T does not need to
dominate artificial intelligence in the way major technology hubs do. What we need is disciplined execution over the next decade: faster approvals, cleaner processes, improved service delivery and stronger export capability.
The AI productivity paradox, observed globally, should serve as a wake-up call. The world is investing heavily in tools. The real differentiator is organisational discipline. Technology alone does not produce output. Structured workflows, accountability and cultural alignment do.
For a small economy, alignment can be an advantage. When leadership is coordinated, standards are clear and capability building is intentional, transformation can occur more quickly than in larger, more fragmented markets. The firms that act decisively today will not merely be AI users.
They will define new service standards locally and compete internationally on competence rather than hype.
Ultimately, this is not a technology story. It is a productivity story. It is about whether T&T chooses to reduce friction, raise standards and convert digital tools into measurable economic output.
That is the business story that truly matters.
Kirk Rampersad is a senior business and marketing executive and a commentator with the Business Guardian. He writes on marketing trends, consumer behaviour, innovation and strategic growth.
kirkram@hotmail.com
linkedin.com/in/kirk-rampersad-mba-5ab579268
