Last week, AI strategist, Tamsin Deasey-Weinstein, took herself back to university as she embarked on a journey to further deepen her AI skills and understanding.
The UCCI director flew to the UK to complete the first week of the ‘Oxford Executive Diploma in Artificial Intelligence for Business’ at Saïd Business School, which forms part of Oxford University and is ranked as one of the best business schools in the world.
The highly competitive one-year, part-time programme is designed to empower experienced executives, technical specialists, and future leaders with the practical tools to ethically leverage AI in their organisations.
Here, Deasey-Weinstein, who is on the Cayman Islands Government’s NCFC National Digital Transformation Taskforce, tells Cayman Independent about her first week.
“I’ve just returned from my first module at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, and I haven’t slept properly since. Not from jet lag, but from the sheer volume of ideas now swirling around my head.
For one intensive week, I joined 66 senior professionals from 25 countries – Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, across Europe, the United States, and Oceania – to explore the full landscape of digital transformation.
Our cohort was deliberately diverse with roughly 40% from technology companies, 40% from major industries, and 20% from government and policy roles. The conversations that emerged from this mix were extraordinary.
The programme examined AI and digital transformation from every conceivable angle.
We explored strategy and vision, how organisations position themselves for a fundamentally different future, alongside the often-overlooked foundation of data architecture, because AI is only as good as the infrastructure beneath it.
We grappled with ethics and governance, asking how we ensure AI serves humanity rather than the reverse. We examined the evolving legal landscape of intellectual property, liability, and regulation.
And we studied implementation in all its forms, from automating routine processes to complete business transformation, learning that the most sophisticated AI solution isn’t always the right one and understanding when each approach makes sense.
Oxford flew in guest speakers from San Francisco, Chicago and Hong Kong, leaders shaping how major enterprises deploy AI at scale.
Their message was consistent. This technology will not merely change our businesses and lives; it will fundamentally reshape the world as we know it.
We also experienced Apple’s Vision Pro 2 firsthand. Spatial computing, the merger of augmented reality, virtual reality, and our physical environment, is no longer science fiction. It’s entering our living rooms, and the experience was simply unbelievable.
Not only does it allow you to bring virtual objects into your own room, but it also gives hands-free a whole new meaning. As it is retina operated.
Here’s what kept me awake on the flight home. Every concept, every framework, every small thing we discussed has direct implications for our islands.
As a part of the NCFC Digital Transformation Task Force, I’m tasked with helping develop our national AI strategy.
This week, I sat alongside the person leading digital transformation for the UAE and the architect of Athens’ digital strategy.
I connected with executives managing sustainability for massive data centers and energy providers navigating the intersection of AI and climate commitments.
These aren’t just contacts, they’re potential collaborators who understand that small island nations face unique challenges and opportunities in the AI transition.
The knowledge exchange has already begun, and the payback after only one week has been immense.
Yet the most important insight from Oxford wasn’t technical. It was this: the countries and organisations that will thrive are those that start preparing now, not with fear, but with informed intention.
Cayman has advantages many larger nations lack. Our size allows for agility, our international business expertise provides relevant foundations, and our community is small enough that we can genuinely include everyone in this conversation.
I returned exhausted and exhilarated. The week cost me sleep but gained Cayman something more valuable.
That being a clearer picture of the path ahead, the relationships to help us walk it, and the conviction that this journey will make not only my future better, but our islands’ future too.”
