Robot gets flagman job

On Collie Smith Drive in Arnett Gardens, a flag-waving robot has become more than a lunchtime stand-in, it's a glimpse into a future where even Jamaica's simplest jobs may be taken over by machines.

The solar-powered device works in silence save for the faint hum of its motor, two bright flags rising and falling in an unchanging rhythm. Site workers say the machine is brought to life only during the human traffic controller's lunch break, yet its brief appearances have already drawn the attention and opinions of nearby residents.

Sabula Lemard, the flag person normally stationed at the site, isn't convinced the robot will replace persons like her in the future.

"It was working yesterday (Wednesday), and I didn't see it working today (Thursday), so I don't think it will affect my job," Lemard told THE WEEKEND STAR.

"If rain fall on me, mi nah stop work and mi still have me job, don't it? But if rain fall pan that, it mash up. It's just there to show that work is in process. But yuh know how Chinese stay already, dem always come wid some something."

She explained that the robot is powered by solar energy and plugged in only while she takes her break.

"When we go on lunchtime, them plug it in make it work," she said. For Lemard, human presence still matters.

"Sometimes you have to give hand signals or talk to a driver if them confused," she said, recalling a man who once stopped to ask if the road was one-way. "A robot can't do that. It can't tell a man him wheel turn too far or him going the wrong way."

A few metres away, two young residents who are college students on summer break, sat on a low wall, watching the scene unfold. Second-year UTech student Kemar Dixon, a business major, saw the robot as a sign of progress.

"It's such a smart idea. This is just the beginning of turning the country into Japan and China. We need to officially get to the time," he said. Dixon added that seeing advanced tools in an inner-city space sends a powerful message, that innovation shouldn't feel "foreign" to young Jamaicans, but something they can build and manage themselves.

"If we can see it here, we can start thinking about making our own," he said. "It's not just for uptown or overseas, we can do these things right where we live." But his friend Tyrone sees it as a warning sign.

"Everybody talking about robots, but how long before AI takes over our jobs? Even though the world needs it, and it is smart, how do we not let it get out of control?" he asked.

Tyrone argued that while automation could boost productivity, it also risked putting entire categories of work out of reach for ordinary Jamaicans if left unchecked. But he admitted that the sight of the robot felt like a small win for the neighbourhood.

"It's a good look for our community actually, as small as it is," he said.

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica reports that a significant portion of the country's workforce is employed in low- or semi-skilled jobs, the very roles most at risk from automation. While the Collie Smith Drive robot is a small-scale test, it has touched a nerve about how quickly Jamaica should embrace such changes, and how to do so without leaving vulnerable workers behind.

By lunchtime, the robot stands alone in the midday sun, arms rising and falling with machine precision. By afternoon, Lemard is back in position, reading traffic with her eyes, waving with her hands, and calling out instructions to drivers who slow down to ask for guidance.

As one motorcyclist quipped while weaving past the cones, "Mi rather see a smile than a steel face. Robot cya wave mi through with manners."