The Department of Education (DepEd) is studying the possibility of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the basic education system, according to Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Thursday.

In an interview on Thursday at the sidelines of the “AI Horizons PH 2024: Conference on AI-Powered Research and Innovation” at the University of the Philippines BGC Campus in Taguig City, Angara said that the agency is studying the possibility of AI integration.

“With AI, teachers can save time and focus on students who need more attention. Advanced students can also progress at a faster pace with the help of AI,” Angara said, adding that there is a need for guidelines and regulations in using AI for educational purposes, similar to those in place at the University of the Philippines.

“We have policies in place. We need to respect them. If a teacher says AI is not allowed, it should be respected,” Angara said. “Our principals and teachers should also be vigilant. If students are up-to-date, teachers should also be up-to-date.”

AI projects showcased during the two-day conference are reshaping the intersection of artificial intelligence with education and governance.

From empowering educators through automated grading to optimizing biodiversity databases, UP’s AI initiatives offer transformative potential for the nation.

One of the key breakthroughs presented was “Improving Open-Vocabulary Object Detection in a Vision Language Model,” which addresses limitations in existing AI systems when detecting unfamiliar objects.

The UP-developed LLaVA-World model improves detection accuracy by an astonishing 420 percent, boosting performance from 4.8 percent to 25 percent in tests.

“Our model’s enhancement offers a major leap in AI’s ability to understand and interpret complex visual environments, making it applicable to a wide range of real-world tasks from education to governance,” said project lead Dr. Rowel Atienza.