A lawmaker in the House of Representatives is renewing his call for the creation of the “superbody” to oversee the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Philippines.
Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Barbers, overall chair of the House quad committee and the Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said the Philippines needs a multi-agency regulatory body that would deal with the AI revolution in order to augment the skills of Filipinos, increase the productivity of enterprises, and enhance the competitiveness of the economy, the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported.
“Halos lahat ng bansa sa mundo ay nagsasagawa na ng mga pambansang polisiya o batas sa patuloy na pag-unlad ng kaalaman tungkol sa AI (Almost all countries in the world are already formulating national policies or laws about the continuous development of knowledge about AI),” he said in a press release.
“We Filipinos need to embrace AI because we cannot avoid it. Hindi dapat tayo magpahuli sa mga bagay na ito dahil malaki ang magiging impact nito sa ating lipunan, partikular na sa edukasyon, negosyo at ekonomiya (We should not be lagging behind these things because these have big impacts in our society, particularly in education, business and economy).”
No national agency on AI
Barbers said the Department of Science and Technology, University of the Philippines and Department of Education, among other government institutions, have crafted or are currently crafting their policies on AI.
But still, “we have no national agency yet that would handle and regulate it in a strategic and/or systematic manner.”
Barbers filed House Bill No.7396 last year that pushed for the creation of the Artificial Intelligence Development Authority, which would undertake the tasks, duties and responsibilities in the development and implementation of a national AI strategy.
The Act Promoting the Development and Regulation of AI in the Philippines bats for a comprehensive framework for the development and regulation of AI.
Barbers said the rapid phase of technological advancement in AI poses risks and challenges that must be addressed to ensure that its benefits are maximized, and its negative impacts are minimized, if not avoided.”
The bill includes provisions to protect the privacy and personal data of individuals to prevent discrimination and bias in AI technologies.
The proposed national AI agency would act as a watchdog against unscrupulous individuals who would take advantage of or use AI for criminal ends.
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AI for Philippine education
Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara meanwhile expressed optimism on the possible benefits of AI to improve the quality of education in the Philippines.
“Talagang pinag-aaralan namin ano iyong posibilidad diyan. Kasi nakikita natin, may pakinabang talaga diyan yung mga guro, meron din pakinabang sa mga estudyante (We are really studying the possibilities there. Because we see that there’s really a benefit for teachers, even for students),” he said in a PNA report.
In particular, Angara said the technology may assist teachers in dealing with learners.
“Parang matitipid ng oras ni teacher dahil makapag-focus siya doon sa mga nangangailangan. Tapos iyong mga advanced students, pwede na rin mauna kasi sa tulong ng (Teachers can save time and they can focus on those in need. Then the advanced students, they can proceed with the aid of the) AI,” Angara said.
To realize technological advancements and the use of AI, Angara said, there are still 2,000 schools needing electric power and 40,000 schools needing electricity upgrades.
“I think, as you all know, AI needs good power, good bandwidth. So we have to ensure that these systems can handle the technology of the future,” he said in a separate speech during the conference.
Before AI, Angara said the DepEd has ongoing partnerships for the utilization of other innovative software and tools that help elevate learning systems including Khan Academy, I AM The Code, and Canva, among others.
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