The Philippines is starting to make its mark in the AI arena — and this time, we’ve brought a playbook. The National AI Strategy (NAIS-Phl), proposed by the Departmentof Science and Technology (DoST), aims to position us not just as tech adopters, but as active contributors in an increasingly AI-driven world. It’s a roadmap for 2024 to 2028 with three key pillars: AI workforce development, AI Infrastructure, and AI Governance, Policy, and Ethics. These cover agriculture, healthcare, education, disaster resilience, and creative industries among other key areas.

Global Standing

We’re not at the top of the leaderboard, but we’re no longer stuck on the bench. UNCTAD ranks us “upper middle” in global AI readiness — above expectations for a developing economy. With our digital-native population, a large English-speaking workforce, and a BPO sector ripe for augmentation, we’re better positioned than we give ourselves credit for. The real challenge? Execution and governance.

Rep. Brian Poe and the Philippine AI Governance Act

The newly proposed Philippine Artificial Intelligence Governance Act, filed by Rep. Brian Poe Llamanzares, is a significant move toward regulating AI in a way that balances innovation and safety. Inspired by the EU’s framework, it introduces a risk-based classification system:

• Unacceptable risk applications (like social scoring or mass facial recognition)? Banned outright. Good.

• High-risk systems (think: predictive policing or hiring algorithms)? Subject to strict regulation, documentation, and human oversight.

• Limited risk systems (like chatbots)? Allowed, but with transparency requirements.

• Minimal risk uses (like AI for your viral meme)? Encouraged to thrive with minimal red tape.

The bill emphasizes transparency, data governance, technical documentation, and human oversight — principles that should be default by design.

The bill also proposes the creation of the Artificial Intelligence Authority (AIDA), yet another attached agency of the DoST. AIDA will be responsible for strategy setting, coordination, and ensuring compliance.

This isn’t about slowing down innovation. It’s about ensuring the AI systems we roll out in schools, hospitals, banks, and barangay halls aren’t opaque, biased, or exploitative. In a country where disinformation and digital inequality are clear and present threats, this kind of measured, risk-based approach is exactly what we need.

Local advantage

We may not have Silicon Valley’s innovation infrastructure or China’s scale, but we do have a few unique advantages:

• Rapid adoption: Filipinos adapt quickly to new tools — useful or otherwise. Remember when out of nowhere, we became Axie Infinity capital of the world?

• Creative capital: From TikTok to teleseryes, our content industries are well-positioned to leverage generative AI—if creators are protected.

• Community-driven innovation: From NGOs to LGUs, there’s grassroots potential for AI in areas like agri-tech and disaster response — solving real world problems.

The Path Forward

Across different sectors, the Philippines is finally doing more than reacting to AI — we’re getting a chance shaping it. Now comes the hard part: implementation. We’ll need talent pipelines, infrastructure, and consistent leadership. But at least this time, we’re playing offense. And in the fast-moving world of AI, that might just make the difference.