During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) recently held in South Korea, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., stated that his administration is pursuing artificial intelligence (AI) and integrate it across the agencies of the Philippine government sooner than later, according to a Manila Bulletin news report.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of Manila Bulletin. Some parts in boldface…
President Marcos said his administration is determined to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) across government agencies “as much as we can, as soon as we can,” warning that waiting too long would mean missing out on opportunities for innovation and efficiency.
“You’re missing a chance if you wait,” Marcos told reporters here on Saturday evening, Nov. 1.
“AI is going to come. Parang alon ‘yan, eh. Kahit anong gawin mo, mababasa ka (AI is like a wave — no matter what you do, you’ll get wet),” he added.
The President said the Philippines must quickly learn how to use AI “in the best, secure, and benevolent way” to serve the public, warning that failure to adapt could leave the country behind.
“If you do not learn how to swim, if you do not learn how to use AI properly, may iwanan ka talaga (You’ll be left behind),” he said.
According to Marcos, AI’s rapid evolution makes it necessary for governments to study and apply the technology carefully.
“What AI can do one month ago is different from what AI will be able to do one month from now. That’s why people can’t quite understand it — it learns,” he said.
He described AI as “such a powerful tool” that could transform governance, public service, and economic competitiveness.
“You must take advantage of it as quickly as possible. You have to learn how to use it as quickly as possible,” the President said.
He added that other world leaders in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) share the same sense of urgency.
“That’s one of my big takeaways from APEC. All the other leaders as well — they recognize how quickly AI will overwhelm us if we do not learn how to handle it properly,” he said.
Not a one-size-fits-all approach – Asked whether he plans to issue a directive guiding agencies on AI adoption, Marcos said it was too early to impose a blanket policy.
“It’s not yet clear what AI you use for government,” he said.
“Each department has a slightly different AI. We have to learn — we’re still studying,” he added.
The President said the government intends to consult both local and international experts to identify which applications of AI are most useful and which areas require caution.
“We have to talk to the experts — the whole world — and find out what does it do well, what doesn’t it do well,” he said.
Still, Marcos emphasized that AI adoption must be people-centered, helping Filipinos rather than replacing them.
In my opinion, using AI for governance and public service still looks uncertain. Considering how powerful or sophisticated AI has gotten today, it can be prone to abuse by the government. Worse, there is no guarantee right now how to protect human users from getting overwhelmed in the event that AI becomes self-aware and turns rogue against humanity. Just two years ago, GMA Network came up with fake sportscasters (both generated by AI) which caused some controversy here in the Philippines and only reminded people that AI has no soul and no humanity. Apart from being harmful to human workers in the business world, lots of AI applications made errors that affected users in varying ways. AI is currently not so effective in Japan in relation to finding solutions to their rice production problems. Watch and learn from the videos below.
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think AI will really be helpful with regards to governance and public service? Do you think Congress should first make a new law and a series of rules covering AI? What safety measures should be taken to protect people in case rogue AI happens? Do you think the AI move is a convenient strategy of the administration to keep people’s attention away from the flood control corruption scandals and the weakening economic growth of the country?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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