Emotions matter in tech-driven world
Minister, tech-savvy teen echo need for ethical, emotionally aware use of AI
Published:Wednesday | April 16, 2025 | 12:09 AMMickalia Kington/Gleaner Writer
At just 15 years old, Jada Wright is breaking barriers by not only being the youngest student ever enrolled at The University of Technology,Jamaica, (UTech), but also becoming a voice for the new generation that understands the link between emotional intelligence (EI) and artificial intelligence (AI).
On Tuesday, at the Organization Development Transformation Conference on the future of AI and EI in the country, Wright shared with The Gleaner her take on why emotions matter just as much as computer algorithms.
“From my perspective, emotional intelligence doesn’t necessarily just mean being able to read other people’s emotions,” she explained. “Sometimes it just has to do with being able to interpret your own emotions.”
For Wright, success isn’t just about being smart. It is about knowing when to slow down, check in with herself, and make space for how she feels. She described how self-awareness became her anchor through stress and challenges.
“Being able to tell if I’m feeling tired and how do I cope with that. Or just being able to tell, kind of, if I’m feeling happy or if I’m feeling sad. I think it’s really important and people need to stress more being in tune with your own emotions even more than you are with everyone else’s,” she said.
For her, emotional intelligence is not just helpful, it is essential.
“When you understand yourself, that’s how you can really, kind of, manipulate your emotions and to push yourself to be the best version you can be,” she reasoned.
The tech-savvy teen’s curiosity goes beyond understanding human emotions and into the emotional potential of AI.
“I know, personally, whenever I use ChatGPT, I tend to prompt it in such a way where it kind of guides me,” she said. “Someone sends me a message and I don’t know how to respond but [I] want to be tactful … and it just makes it sound perfect.”
Wright’s vision for the future is a world where machines handle the repetitive and mundane aspects of life so humans can focus on what really matters – “Like I can have more time to be a better sister, a better friend.”
SYNERGY BETWEEN AI AND EI
Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr, who spoke about the growing synergy between emotional and artificial intelligence, echoed this message.
“This conversation around urbanisation, climate transformation, and the synergy between AI and EI is something that I have been speaking about for years,” the minister said. “By utilising technology and utilising artificial intelligence, we can become more efficient and more productive.”
Charles highlighted that while AI is revolutionising how we handle data and automate tasks, EI is what helps us to lead, connect, and make ethical choices.
“People connect with people, not machines,” he said. “In a world full of smart technology, emotional intelligence is what keeps us truly human.”
Charles talked about the front-line heroes who serve and interact with many Jamaicans every day, saying that even a dose of emotional intelligence is necessary as it is what enables them to respond compassionately to real human needs.
But he also cautioned Jamaicans that AI’s growing power comes risk. Recalling issues like deepfakes and digital scams, he warned: “It (AI) doesn’t know that it’s doing something wrong. Our emotional intelligence and our own human intelligence will always be important because technology is a simple formula to repeat.”
Looking ahead, Charles laid out three key principles to guide Jamaica into human-centred and AI-integrated future of work: employment through education, inclusivity and equity, and ethical innovation.
He called for national AI fluency, which is the ability to understand and work alongside artificial intelligence, and stressed the importance of building emotional skills from an early age.
“As we digitise our systems, we are focused on ensuring that no Jamaican is left behind,” he said. “So let us ensure that as we continue now in ... what we call the age of algorithms that we do not ever forget the value of emotional insight.”
Keynote speaker Dr William Brendel, designer of OD Competency, emphasised the distinction between organisational effectiveness and organisational development (OD), highlighting OD’s focus on transformation rather than mere efficiency.
His speech introduced the two sides of AI, which are transactional and transformational. According to Brendel, the transactional side involves the automation of online tasks, assisting in process mapping and data analysis while the transformational side enables deep personal and systemic change.
Brendel tied this concept to transformative learning, a theory developed by Jack Mezirow and Paulo Freire. He explained, “There is a process that OD consultants can lead individuals and teams through to drive genuine, sustainable transformation.”
Brendel focused on the cycle of transformative learning, which he says starts with discomfort, then moving into critical reflection, dialogue, experimentation, and finally, integration into real life.