Artificial intelligence (AI) is now an almost indispensable everyday tool that one cannot do without. But as in life, inequality is also a reality. A reality that not all of us are equally provided the opportunity to learn and to take advantage of advances in technology for the betterment of our lives.

Fully aware of this inequality, the Rotary Club of Makati embarked on an advocacy to open the door to possibly a new life for the underprivileged with no visible means to learn about AI. Barely a few months into his new term, the club, under the leadership of RCM president Eddie Galvez, launched the Artificial Intelligence Academy. The program intends to provide a platform for underprivileged youth to learn what AI is all about and enable a new beginning for them.

“Yes, you belong. Yes, you are capable. Yes, you are ready.”

With these words of lofty expectation, president Eddie bade goodbye, good luck, and Godspeed to the first batch of graduates composed of senior high-level students at the Sisters of Mary Boys Town and Girls Town. Of about a hundred boys and girls interviewed, some seventy were designated to undergo an intensive four-month course in Artificial Intelligence at the RCM AI Academy. The course curriculum is underpinned by three pillars — Education, Empowerment and Employability — which is to educate them to be empowered and hopefully employed.

Conceptualized, executed, and manned by several RCM members, particularly AI Academy Committee Chair, the visionary Roger Collantes, with the able support of committee members, to name a few, Patrick Parungao, Philip Soliven, Paolo Turno and Keith Harrison, complemented by the invaluable technical teaching and coaching staff of Kada Kareer, they gave life and inculcated in the students the three pillars of AI.

Over the last weekend, a panel of several RCM members, including yours truly, interviewed the various teams tasked with presenting their AI-powered solutions, which they created to solve real-life business issues of several companies owned by RCM members.

To give you a flavor of the teams’ impressive outputs, allow me to share a brief description of a few of the top projects.

The first company is one of the largest trading firms in the country, dealing primarily in a critical commodity. Its trading positioning in terms of timing and order quantities, rightly or wrongly, could translate to significant values that could literally affect the economic direction of the country. With such a massive operating scale, voluminous documentation is inevitable. The assigned team designed an immediately workable AI solution called Sortech that facilitates reliable, accurate, and prompt data retrieval that can generate an estimated P267,000 in monthly savings for the company.

Another noteworthy project that merited runner-up honors is for a property design and architectural firm. Prompt Library is an AI-curated image solution that is a library of a limitless number of architectural renderings and floor plan visuals. Similarly, the AI solution immensely facilitated architectural drawings, saving time and money for the firm.

Indeed, with the recognition of the value of their output, the students realized that with the training they were provided, they had become AI designers who could compete with the best of the AI solutions providers and industry practitioners.

And how was this accomplished? To paraphrase President Eddie’s message during their graduation, the students were provided the basic learning tools that explained how to think critically about the desired objective and critical aspects of a task or project, then how the tasks could be accomplished using AI technology, what particular AI tool to use, and how to create the necessary tool customized to address the needs of the company.

Finally, they learned and understood the importance of ethics and being responsible in the use of AI, and always for the greater good.

This newfound empowerment of the students through the whole learning and building experience has enabled these underprivileged youths to come to the realization that with AI, whatever barriers or obstacles because of their circumstances in life need no longer be a hindrance to have a better and brighter future. They are now capable. They are now prepared. And they are confident.

Until next week… OBF!

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