Dickson C. Igwe. Photo: VINO/File

Now, the British Virgin Islands exist in a world driven by a new form of capitalism driven by the microchip. These islands must adapt or be left behind. That is the grim reality. 

The Information Age is becoming the Digitized Age. Super Corporations own vast digital platforms, we must all access in order to exist. 

These platforms cross international boundaries through the adoption of advanced science and digital technology, and the internet, and reach every nook and cranny of the globe at the click of a mouse. Presently, capital flows around the globe at the click of a mouse. Financial transactions have become fully digitised. The internet is becoming a vast and virtual marketplace. 

The traditional form of capitalism, where balance sheets and profits put bread on the table, is still very much in existence. However, a new capital model has evolved that is as pervasive as the former, with a caveat. It is rentier. It offers power to its owners – the 1%- by limiting access in near absolute terms to the rest of us. This is a throwback to the days of feudalism when the feudal lord controlled everything within his range of sight.

Prosperity for humankind means engagement with this new class of tech lord, the new capital, and the status quo. It has been termed cloud capital. The modern-day oligarch owns this digitised capital, and that person may be on the road to absolute power. 

The future of Virgin Islands innovation, internal markets, tourism, agriculture and financial services will depend upon how well informed Virgin Islanders are with a new digital paradigm that, with the onset of Artificial Intelligence, appears to have no limit. Engagement with this pervasive digitised culture is not an option. 

Fiber optic cables linked with the microchip and algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence, cross all educational, scientific, and technological cultures, boundaries and platforms: all divides.