The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly encouraged productivity and innovation globally. But for one small Caribbean Island, it has proved to be transformational.
Anguilla, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean, witnessed a boom to such an extent that now it generates around a third of its government's revenue from AI, reported Forbes. Surprisingly, this money is being generated even without a single line of code.
A member of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, Anguilla is making a fortune by collecting a fee from every registration for internet addresses that end in “.ai”
This is because “.ai” happens to be the domain name assigned to the island, similar to ".jp" for Japan and ".fr" for France. “
The official report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) states that Anguilla's country code “.ai” has become a favourite among technology companies across the globe.
The IMF revealed that since the launch of ChatGPT, in November 2022, the registrations for the .ai domain name have surged dramatically.
It added that the registrations soared from 144,000 in 2022 to 354,000 in 2023.
The IMF noted, “They (AI) have also generated an unusual boom in Anguilla, a British overseas territory and member of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, whose .ai country-code internet domain has become a favourite among technology companies across the world. Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, registrations of .ai domain names have skyrocketed—surging from 144,000 registrations in 2022 to 354,000 in 2023.”
Talking about the revenue being generated, the IMF revealed that last year “.ai domain registrations generated EC$87 million.”
It must be noted that this is 20 per cent more than the Anguillan government's total revenue generation last year.
The IMF added, “In 2023 alone, this surge in .ai domain registrations generated EC$87 million in revenue (approximately $32 million)—just over 20 per cent of the government's total revenue for the year.”
It continued, “This marks a dramatic increase from previous years when revenue from .ai domain registrations hovered around 5 per cent. Looking ahead, the government expects revenue from .ai domain registrations to stabilize at around 15 per cent of total government revenue, as the initial rush of registrations gradually slows.”
The IMF noted that Anguilla is heavily dependent on tourism activities that account for 37 per cent of its GDP. The growing trend of .ai domain registrations is now playing a crucial role in diversifying its economy.