Puno: AIDA bill eyes maximizing AI gains

House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno said Wednesday that the recent bill they passed, which sought to establish a dedicated agency to govern the proposed economic zone in New Clark City, was intended to make the most out of the growing artificial intelligence (AI) market.

Speaking during the DAILY TRIBUNE’s Straight Talk program, the lawmaker said the Philippines was well positioned to capitalize on the technological space, given its vast natural resources and highly skilled workers.

Puno noted what the government needs to enhance its ability to enter the market: creating the Advanced Industries Development Authority (AIDA), which would govern the economic zone to be established in Clark.

“What we hope is that here in Clark, in the Advanced Industries Development Authority zone, we would be able to produce a free market environment for the development of the ecosystem needed for artificial intelligence,” he explained.

The lawmaker added that the measure was meant to define which authority would govern Clark, noting that all economic zones in the country have their own distinct laws.

Puno added that the law was needed to boost foreign investor confidence in the economic zone, stressing that business owners could become disinterested in an area not backed by concrete policies.

“That’s why we need the law, because it really defines, prescribes, guarantees what the zone will look like,” he pointed out.

Part of int’l network

Beyond being an independent economic zone, Puno explained that AIDA will tie into the Pax Silica declaration, a non-binding agreement by 26 countries worldwide.