(yes this text was generated with AI)

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant technology trend—it is actively reshaping public services, education, creative industries, security, and climate resilience across the globe. For the Caribbean, AI offers a massive opportunity to accelerate economic growth, streamline public services, and build climate resilience. However, without proactive, regional collaboration, our island nations risk being left behind as passive “standards-takers” in a global AI landscape.

To address these critical challenges and opportunities, the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) is hosting a landmark event: the Inaugural Caribbean Artificial Intelligence Forum (CAIF 2026).

Whether you are a policymaker, business leader, educator, researcher, technology enthusiast, or student, here is everything you need to know about this flagship regional event and why you should attend.

Event Details at a Glance

• Dates: July 23 – 24, 2026
• Time: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM (AST)
• Format: Hybrid (In-person & Virtual options available)
• Venue: The University Inn Conference Centre, UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
• Theme: AI for Caribbean Transformation: Governance, Innovation and Resilience for a Shared Digital Future
• Host: Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) in partnership with UWI

What Makes CAIF 2026 a Must-Attend Event?

1. Launch of the Caribbean AI Task Force (CAITF) Final Report

The forum marks the official unveiling of the CAITF Final Report, establishing a strategic roadmap toward harmonized regional AI policy, ethical governance, and data sovereignty across CARICOM countries.

2. High-Impact Sessions & Thought Leadership

Over two packed days, regional and international leaders will tackle the most pressing topics at the intersection of technology, law, and society:

• Governance & Regional Harmonization: Building shared frameworks that protect sovereignty while enabling regional scale.
• Data Sovereignty & Cybersecurity: Safeguarding Caribbean data infrastructure and preparing local cybersecurity measures for the AI era.
• Ethics, Human Rights, & Inclusion: Developing human-centric safeguards against algorithmic bias to protect vulnerable communities.
• Creatives, Culture, & IP: Addressing copyright, protecting creators’ rights, and unlocking new digital economies for young creators.
• Women in AI: Highlighting women leaders in technology and opening funding and mentorship pathways for women-led startups.
• Youth Cybersecurity Debate: Dynamic debate on mandatory cyber insurance vs. state regulation in driving AI security standards.

3. Diverse, Cross-Sector Networking

CAIF 2026 brings together policy leaders, private sector innovators, development partners (DFIs), academics, civil society champions, and youth innovators under one roof. It is a rare opportunity to connect directly with decision-makers who are actively building the Caribbean’s digital economy.

Who Should Attend?

• Governments & Regulators: Shape harmonized policies, standard frameworks, and public sector AI integration.
• Tech Founders & Industry Leaders: Discover opportunities for regional expansion, investment, and infrastructure partnerships.
• Academics & Researchers: Present and gain insights into AI literacy, regional dataset development, and applied research.
• Creatives & Cultural Entrepreneurs: Learn how to leverage and protect intellectual property in an AI-driven market.
• Students & Youth Innovators: Participate in discussions, debate key digital policies, and explore careers in emerging technologies.

How to Register

Participation is open both in-person in Trinidad and Tobago and virtually online.

Ready to join the movement?

Reserve your spot by registering directly on the Official CTU AI Forum Event Page.

Be part of the conversation shaping a secure, ethical, and Caribbean-centered digital future.

The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (https://ttcs.tt) invites you to join our online meeting on May 21 2026 at 8pm (23:59 UTC).

We will be using Zoom for this meeting. Please register in advance at the following link :

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/oV_Db6-jQuGzBZLy8j9A4Q

Come join us as we talk about :

• closing in on 1000 computers donated by TTCS
• MPAII launches VerifyTT
• Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath launches AI textbooks for Form 1 students :
• National Payment & Innovation Company of Trinidad and Tobago launches CitizenAI
• Security Alert: Phishing Site Mimicking Trinidad and Tobago Board of Inland Revenue e-Tax Portal
• Trinidad and Tobago Online Departure / Arrival Forms
• Macbook Neo
• OpenAI shuts Sora
• Google releases Gemma 4 LLM which could run offline on your computer.

and more!

Registration is FREE ! Questions? Email info@ttcs.tt

Via Apple :

Apple announced that Tim Cook will become executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors and John Ternus, senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, will become Apple’s next chief executive officer effective on September 1, 2026. The transition, which was approved unanimously by the Board of Directors, follows a thoughtful, long-term succession planning process.

Cook will continue in his role as CEO through the summer as he works closely with Ternus on a smooth transition. As executive chairman, Cook will assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world.

Read the full press release https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/04/tim-cook-to-become-apple-executive-chairman-john-ternus-to-become-apple-ceo/ and also Tim Cook’s letter at https://www.apple.com/community-letter-from-tim/

The Microsoft Store now has a command line interface (CLI) where you can browse apps, install and update apps from the Microsoft Store all from the command line. Neat!

Via https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2026/02/11/enhanced-developer-tools-on-the-microsoft-store/ :

“Introducing the Microsoft Store command-line interface

A new command-line interface for the Microsoft Store brings app discovery, installation and update management directly to your terminal. This enables developers and users with a new way to discover and install Store apps, without needing the GUI. The Store CLI is available only on devices where Microsoft Store is enabled.

Key capabilities include:

• Browse apps with store browse-apps : Search and filter the Store catalog by category, subcategory, listing type (top-free, top-paid, new releases), market, language and more.
• Install apps instantly with store install <product-id> : Deploy apps directly from the command line with a single command.
• Update specific apps with store update <product-id> : Install the latest version of any app without navigating through menus.

Learn more by typing

store –help

on the command line.”

---

The new Store CLI looks to make it easier to script/automate installations and updates from the Microsoft Store.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) went down on October 20 2025 causing widespread disruption to many web services that rely on AWS cloud hosting including Amazon itself. According to Ars Technica :

“Ultimately, more than 28 AWS services were disrupted, causing perhaps billions in damages, one analyst estimated for CNN.

Popular apps like Snapchat, Signal, and Reddit went dark. Flights got delayed. Banks and financial services went down. Massive games like Fortnite could not be accessed. Some of Amazon’s own services were hit, too, including its e-commerce platform, Alexa, and Prime Video. Ultimately, millions of businesses simply stopped operating, unable to log employees into their systems or accept payments for their goods.”

Fortunately, October 20 2025 was a holiday in Trinidad and Tobago due to Diwali so business disruption was minimized – I know that users of Autodesk software such as AutoCad and Revit had difficulty running said software which would have disrupted the work of engineering firms.

Amazon has posted about this incident on its website :

Between 11:49 PM PDT on October 19 and 2:24 AM PDT on October 20, AWS experienced increased error rates for AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region, which also impacted Amazon.com and Amazon subsidiaries, as well as AWS Support operations. By 12:26 AM PDT on October 20, we determined that the event was the result of DNS resolution issues for the regional DynamoDB service endpoints, and mitigated the issue by 2:24 AM PDT. After resolving the DynamoDB DNS issue, AWS services began recovering, but a small subset of internal subsystems continued to be impaired.

The disruption of Amazon Web Services in one region resulting in disruption to so many third party websites, software and applications worldwide highlights the concentration of cloud providers by the likes of Amazon, Google and Microsoft and the challenges for third parties to continue operations if there is an disruption to one of the cloud providers that they have hosted their operations.

The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) invites you to a special collaborative webinar, marking Global Encryption Day! We’re hosting this important discussion in partnership with the Internet Society Trinidad and Tobago Chapter, IEEE Young Professionals TT, and the CTU Caribbean ICT Youth Network.

What is Encryption?

Encryption is a tool or process that makes messages unreadable to others. Encryption transforms your data in code so that only the intended recipient can read it. In other words, it secures your information from unauthorised access.

Webinar Details

Theme: Contextualising Digital Rights in the Caribbean

When: Tuesday, 21st October 2025

Time: 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM time in Trinidad and Tobago (UTC-4)

Where: Online via Microsoft Teams

Who Should Attend?

This session is designed for anyone interested in technology, policy, and digital rights in the Caribbean:

• University students (Engineering, IT, Policy, Law, Management)
• Tech professionals & innovators
• Legal professionals & policymakers

Why Attend?

Join us to gain crucial insights into digital rights and security in our region:

• Learn about data privacy and digital rights developments in the Caribbean.
• Understand how encryption protects private communications.
• Explore global debates on End-to-End Encryption (E2EE).

Featured Panellists

• Mr. Sachin Ganpat – Secretary, IEEE TT Section; Chair, JCCS Chapter
• Dr. Raquel Gatto – General Counsel, Head of Legal, NIC.br
• Mr. Rishi Maharaj – Founder & Managing Director, Privacy Advisory Services

We look forward to your participation in this essential conversation on digital rights and encryption.

In a Trinidad Express newspaper article dated October 7 2025 , Acting Commissioner of Prisons Hayden Forde confirmed that from April 4 to October 4 2025, there were at least 626 drone sightings over Trinidad and Tobago Prisons, primarily at the Maximum Security Prison. The drones are used to drop contraband, and the Prison Service lacks the technology to counter the drones.

Hayden Forde emphasized the need for anti-drone devices and CCTV systems to address the issue.

Read the Trinidad Express article at https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/626-drone-sightings-over-jails-in-6-months/article_59a4aed7-597f-49b8-a4a3-2b1363f8dc30.html