AI is here. Are we?

By Herman M. Lagon

It rarely begins with noise. First, the cashier lane disappears. Then, your banking app starts doing what tellers used to. Before you can even ask what changed, your officemate who used to handle the monthly reports is suddenly moved elsewhere—her old tasks now taken over by software that sounds like a health supplement. This is not the future. It is already happening—right here, in our offices, clinics, schools, and call centers. For many Pinoy workers, especially those in predictable, rule-based roles, the future is not looming. It is already clocked in.

Take Mylene from Megaworld. She has spent over a decade on graveyard shifts answering calls, calming tempers, fixing tech glitches. Her voice—once her edge—is now flanked by an AI co-agent that drafts replies in real time. “The bot is never tired,” she shrugs. “But it never really listens either.” She is part of a growing pool of workers quietly edged out by automation. According to the World Economic Forum, over 7.5 million data jobs will vanish globally by 2027. That hits close to home in the Philippines, where BPOs are not just industries—they are entire ecosystems supporting families and futures.

A recent survey from Bloomberg Intelligence revealed that banks alone may cut 200,000 jobs in the next few years, as AI steps into routine financial work. From cashiers and clerks to analysts and drivers, roles once considered stable are now marked “at risk.” Here in the country, where job security often feels more like a myth than a right, these numbers land hard. The IMF warns that up to 60% of jobs in advanced economies could be touched by AI. We sit somewhere in between: tech-ready but deeply labor-reliant.

Yes, upskilling is part of the answer—but it must be said plainly. Retraining is not easy for everyone. Telling a mid-career bookkeeper to shift to data science sounds fine in theory, but where does she begin? I remember a parent—a bank teller—saying, “I know how to count money, not build apps.” His voice carried the worry of many. Not everyone has the time, tools, or energy to pivot. Especially not those already stretched thin by daily survival.

Strangely enough, the work AI struggles with most is the work rooted in care and connection—jobs we often underpay and overlook. But no code can teach a person how to comfort or inspire. Machines may write poems, but they do not tear up reading them. A 2025 Pew study confirms it: jobs involving human nuance and care are less likely to be automated soon. And yet, these are also the ones most undervalued in our society. It is worth asking—what kind of work do we reward?

Inside classrooms, the questions are getting louder. My students, smart and eager, ask whether coding still matters when AI can write programs better. Whether marketing is still a safe bet when algorithms now analyze trends faster. Even my daughters—one in medicine, the other in special education—are learning to work with AI without letting it replace their thinking. The goal is not to compete with machines, but to stay human alongside them.

Some are learning to ride the AI wave. Former agents now supervise bots. Content moderators teach AI local nuance. Even LGUs are adopting automated systems for faster services. But let us be honest—these “new collar” roles require both tech fluency and soft skills our current system barely equips students for. The 2025 McKinsey Report urges a shift toward nurturing critical thinking and empathy alongside digital training. This is more than a skills gap—it is a values gap.

And yes, new jobs are emerging. Roles like AI ethicists, human-machine interaction designers, and digital wellness advisors are no longer just buzzwords. I met a “prompt engineer” and a “quantum developer” at a recent Rotary event in Iloilo. It is a real job now—crafting the right questions to get the right answers from AI, and designing, coding, and testing software that runs on quantum computers. Still, for every new role created, many are rebranded, watered down, or eliminated. One missed paycheck can mean lost tuition or unpaid rent. This is not theory—it is kitchen table reality.

The worry is no longer just personal—it is collective. Groups like the BPO Industry Employees’ Network (BIEN) are calling for stronger protections for outsourcing workers, including the long-proposed Magna Carta that ensures fair wages and safety nets. This is not about resisting progress. It is about securing dignity. I have seen enough in leadership roles to know that innovation must walk hand in hand with compassion. Otherwise, we risk a future that is efficient but hollow.

So, what do we teach our children and students now? Not panic, and certainly not blind worship of tech. AI reflects its makers. If we build it with speed but no soul, it will mirror only part of us. The wisdom we pass on should include discernment—pausing, asking, weighing. Not just “Can we automate this?” but “Should we?” Not everything fast is forward.

Still, hope is not lost. A recent SnapLogic survey showed that over half of workers feel AI gives them more balance—freeing time for meaningful work. In a hospital in Iloilo, a simple scheduling AI eased the load for nurses, letting them spend more time with patients. That is the point, is it not? Let machines handle the “mindless” and “automated,” so people can focus on what matters—the things that cannot be digitized: patience, intuition, compassion…a listening ear, a knowing glance, a quiet act of care…a gentle voice, an honest pause, a kind presence. A bot may respond, but only people can truly care. That is where our real worth lies.

Because at the end of the day, this is not just a story about jobs. It is about people—jeepney drivers, store owners, parents, fresh grads—all trying to find their place in a shifting world. Policy must evolve. Schools must catch up. Employers must choose fairness over shortcuts. And we, as citizens, must stay grounded, curious, and kind.

AI is not coming. It is already here. But so are we—still thinking, still caring, still fighting to matter. The challenge is not just to save our careers, but to protect what makes work, and life, truly human.

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Doc H fondly describes himself as a “student of and for life” who, like many others, aspires to a life-giving and why-driven world grounded in social justice and the pursuit of happiness. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions he is employed or connected with.