Technology minister to address Global Adventist Internet Conference

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology Fayval Williams will be the keynote speaker during the opening ceremony of the Global Adventist Internet Network (GAiN) Conference tomorrow, starting at 7 p.m.

GAiN is a conference of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church designed to foster the use of technology, media and the Internet to help in the outreach mission of the church.

In addition to her presentation, the minister will also open an exhibition which showcases artefacts of pass radio and other technology compared to where we are now … from the first transistor radio of the late 1950s to the Apple iPod MP3 player of the 2000s.

“Many of our current generation do not know what the first black and white television looks like,” said Nigel Coke, communication director of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica.

“Young people will be there and we want to take them through that journey – pass radio, television, cell phones and computer – to where we are today.”

BOB THE ROBOT

The information and items to be displayed are taken from the RJR museum at the RJRGLEANER Communications Group’s facilities in Kingston.

Joining the exhibition will be a Northern Caribbean University humanoid robot, codenamed Bob, an autonomous and programmable robot that can interact with people through its seven senses used for natural interaction.

“The inclusion of Bob is an indication to Jamaica as to where technology is going. One of our presentations at the conference is on robotics and artificial intelligence, which is deliberate and intentional because, at the end of the conference, we expect participants to not only understand that technology is the present and future, but to embrace it in all facets of life, including the church’s outreach mission,” Coke added.

Some of the topics to be presented at the conference include animation, new technologies in medicine, blockchain technology, technology for persons with disabilities, cybersecurity and a presentation on Jamaica’s digital switch over and wireless TV.