Use AI in Service to Others
September 4, 2026
Use AI in Service to Others
Artificial intelligence has become one of the defining phrases of the times, as technology pervades classrooms, workplaces and conversations about the future. However at The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus, AI has been given a decidedly more human dimension.
At the Campus’ Matriculation Ceremony, held under the theme “AI: Altruistic Innovations”, speakers challenged the newest members of the Cave Hill community to look beyond the technology and consider how knowledge, innovation and opportunity can be used to improve the lives of others.
Welcoming students who will form part of the Cave Hill graduating class of 2029, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal: Professor R Clive Landis said university education should extend beyond personal achievement and prepare students to contribute to something larger than themselves.
With this, he offered the perspective of “Altruistic Intelligence” – shifting the focus from what artificial intelligence can accomplish, to what people choose to do with intelligence and technology.
At the heart of his message was the question: “What will I do with what I know?”
Drawing on the African philosophy of Ubuntu, he reminded them: “A person is only a person through other persons.” He contrasted this with “I think, therefore, I am,” offering instead: “I am because we are.”
Landis acknowledged AI’s potential to support medical discoveries, weather prediction, agriculture and assistive technologies, but warned that it can also contribute to misinformation, isolation, dependence and academic dishonesty.
“AI cannot decide what kind of human you become,” he said. “But you must decide how to use it responsibly, what matters, and what is morally right.”
That, he said, is where “altruistic intelligence” begins.
Guild President Janik Massiah similarly urged students to consider the human purpose behind innovation.
“Who does it serve? Who does it save? Who gets a voice? Who gets a place?” she asked, arguing that “intelligence without empathy is simply efficiency.”
Using technology as a metaphor for university life, Massiah reminded students that mistakes and difficult semesters are part of the process.
“A glitch is not a system failure,” she said. “It is your system asking for an update.”
Her advice was simple: “Learn. Update. Continue.” But she also urged students to look beyond their own advancement. “Don’t just upgrade yourself. Upgrade somebody else’s life too,” she said.
UWI Alumni Association (Barbados Chapter) representative Commander Carl Farley approached altruistic innovation through his own career journey. Having once dreamed of becoming a commercial pilot, Farley instead became a teacher before moving into the petroleum industry.
His experience taught him that innovation does not always follow the path originally imagined.
“Innovation rarely manifests as planned. It often manifests as a door you did not choose, because the door you wanted stayed shut,” he said
Farley also stressed that knowledge becomes more valuable when shared: “You do not just solve the problem. You make sure the people around you can solve it too.”
Featured speaker Quinn Weekes, founder and chief executive officer of Infolytics and a former Cave Hill student, brought the discussion into data, entrepreneurship and AI.
Weekes urged students to use technology without allowing it to replace the intellectual work university is designed to develop.
“Speed alone is not progress,” he warned. “A bad decision made faster is still a bad decision.”
His challenge was summed up in three words: “Learn deeply. Build boldly. Lift others.”
Weekes encouraged students to tackle real Caribbean problems, including food security, healthcare, climate resilience, education and the cost of living.
“The technology is not the mission. People are the mission,” he said.
Overall the common theme of AI converged on a common idea: intelligence, innovation and education have greater value when used in service of others.
