James Linder, an economist, says that Jersey’s economy could stop growing if it doesn’t invest in AI. He says that AI is the secret sauce for growth on this rock. At Digital Jersey’s yearly party, he strongly pushed for innovation and skills training money to help businesses and the government use AI. This was especially important because of the worker shortage and the aging population. Tony Moretta, the CEO of Digital Jersey, agreed: AI is changing business all over the world, and “nail the strategy or kiss our edge goodbye.”
Jersey is the perfect place for AI fixes to happen. There are more jobs than people, and old people are piling up. This is like the global labor market, which will have 85 million jobs by 2030. Linder: Technology takes jobs away but gives them back, which is great for finance (40% of our GDP). Moretta talks about “fake workers,” which are AI bots that crank out work without needing new heads or homes. This is important for the island with 100,000 people.
Review showed real moves. On November 25, the government started the AI Council to lead it. Deputy Kirsten Morel talks about “tech-smart economy” projects. Hits finance (reg/fraud AI), health (early diag), and public chatbots (70% query slash). Polls? 25% of the day is wasted by 60,000 workers, which costs the company £2.8 billion a year. AI gets rid of boring tasks like compliance chats.
Cash shortages scream. The £10.3 million grants from Jersey Business get pilots going, but we need more: 5,000 prompts/ethics in academies by 2027; £50 million startup pots; and tax breaks like New Jersey’s data center bait. Brandly AI says our fiber and low-London lag is gold—no US power bills. What are the downsides? Bias blowups, cyber jumps up 37%, and the EU AI Act’s ethics musts.
Sector pops: Finance (£400bn funds) speeds KYC by 90%, portfolios by 15%, and is FATF-proof. Ian Campbell from Brandly says that the GRC fix “changes everything” for our rule jungle. Retail and tourism are more personal; farm AI tunes Jersey Royals with satellites and drones. Gov bots do 80% of the work on their own. Moretta: Gains with guardrails, like audits and clear rules.
The government is revving. Morel said, “AI is our future—smart embrace.” Council connects policy and technology; roadmap chases By 2030, Singapore-style, the GDP will go up by 20%. Problems: 70% of businesses are asleep, and 40% of roles need to be retrained. Linder wants money from both the public and private sectors for camps, like the €500 million model in Ireland. Take it easy? Brains go to London or Dublin.
World stage makes it bigger. U.S. corps go 1:30 human-AI; Jersey carves AI-fin niche—low tax, English law, crypto-welcoming post-VASP. Trump dereg helps; UK tiptoes. Bots make the island feel bigger without bringing in new people. Paul Murphy, CEO of Jersey Business, says, “Work smarter”—AI and simple processes.
Projections are going up: McKinsey says that productivity will rise by 15 to 25%, there will be 10,000 AI jobs, and fintech outs will add £1 billion to the GDP. People who hate: Strain on the grid? The wind from offshore is coming. Jersey’s AI crossroads: Pay for it and it will grow; wait and it will die. Linder’s wake-up call: Invest or die. Council’s rolling: from haven to hotbed?
