Artificial Intelligence - Cayman Islands

Premier André Ebanks told Parliament the jurisdiction could have an AI legislative framework by around mid/Q2 2027, but cautioned no firm commencement date can be guaranteed until taskforce recommendations and public consultation are completed. The taskforce will advise whether to enact a standalone AI law or amend existing legislation.

An AI taskforce launched in October 2025, chaired by Cristina Spratt and sitting under the Premier's Office and the Ministry of Social Development and Innovation, was expected to submit AI policy recommendations by the end of May 2026. It is weighing how to classify AI by risk, ensure accountability/auditability, and coordinate regulators including in financial services.

A public survey opened in May 2026 to help shape the national AI policy, with the government engaging stakeholders and the public to inform the framework.

As of March 2026 the Cayman Islands Government developed its first Civil Service AI Policy v1.0, in final sign-off with the Office of the Deputy Governor, setting mandatory governance, risk-management, transparency, accountability and oversight requirements and prohibiting unauthorised deployment, misuse of sensitive data and unapproved high-risk applications. This binds government use only, not the private sector.

The Data Protection Act (2021 Revision), supervised by the Office of the Ombudsman, applies to AI processing of personal data: organisations must be transparent about AI use, and where solely automated decisions have legal or similarly significant effects, individuals have a right to be informed and a right to object. The Ombudsman's guidance on these provisions is interpretive and non-binding.

There is no AI-specific financial-services rule; the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) supervises AI-enabled financial tools under its existing handbook, rules and statements of guidance, balancing innovation against market integrity. Future regulator coordination is among the taskforce's stated considerations.