Crafting a Filipino Future for AI

Artificial intelligence is no longer a far-off concept; it is here, and it is already changing Filipino lives.

In our classrooms, “Project Paaral” uses AI to map inequities in our education system, revealing, for instance, how a ₱9,000 subsidy barely touches the ₱29,930 average tuition for private schools, leaving the most vulnerable behind.

In the face of intensifying typhoons, “Project Nigtas” leverages AI to link natural hazards with learning outcomes, giving schools a fighting chance to adapt before disaster strikes.

These homegrown initiatives are powerful proof of AI’s promise. They demonstrate a capacity for innovation that directly addresses our most pressing social challenges. This is the AI we should champion—a tool for inclusion, resilience, and equitable development. Yet, for every story of progress, there is a corresponding narrative of peril, and it is here that we find ourselves walking a regulatory tightrope.

The central question is no longer if we should use AI, but how. How do we cultivate these beneficial applications while building guardrails against the very real harms of this technology?

The debate was brought into sharp focus during a recent symposium at the University of the Philippines, where a gentle but firm tension emerged between our nation’s top minds. The Center for AI Research (eCAIR) rightfully pushes for strong, multi-layered governance, arguing that without it, “AI exposes people to very real harm—discrimination, misinformation, exclusion.”

On the other side, the UP AI Program cautions against overreach: “Too much regulation will stifle innovation.”

Both are correct. We cannot afford to be naive about the risks. The Philippines has seen a staggering 1,530% spike in deepfake incidents, a threat that corrodes public trust and destabilizes democratic discourse, particularly in an election year.

Global consultancy KPMG notes in a survey that while the public sees the benefits of AI, trust remains low, with cybersecurity being a top concern for 84% of people. Unchecked, AI could exacerbate inequalities, displace workers in critical sectors like the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, and amplify biases we are already fighting to dismantle.

At the same time, we cannot afford to be paralyzed by fear. PricewaterhouseCoopers projects AI could add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. In the Philippines, where the AI market is projected to exceed $1 billion in 2025, the technology is already enhancing our most vital industries.

In the BPO sector, which generated over $35 billion in 2023, AI is not just displacing jobs but creating new, higher-value roles in data analytics and algorithm management.

For our farmers, it can be a “crop whisperer”; for our doctors, a “sidekick” that helps diagnose disease. To slam the brakes on innovation would be to willingly cede our economic future.

The path forward, as experts suggest, lies in a hybrid governance model: a framework of broad, horizontal principles for all, combined with specific, vertical rules for high-stakes sectors.

This is not a task for Manila alone. For us in Western Visayas, this means asking targeted questions. What would a “vertical” regulatory framework look like for our BPO industry in Iloilo City, ensuring that AI augments our workforce rather than replacing it? How can we create data governance rules for agriculture that empower our smallholder farmers without exposing them to exploitation?

The success of pilot programs like “Project Paaral” and “Project Nigtas” provides the blueprint. These projects thrive because they are specific, targeted, and built on a foundation of solving a real-world Filipino problem. Our regulations should follow the same principle. Instead of a single, monolithic law, we need agile, sector-specific guidelines developed in consultation with local industries, academia, and civil society.

The goal is not to choose between progress and protection. It is to architect a system where they fuel each other. We must invest in data infrastructure and AI literacy just as fervently as we debate policy. We need to scale up the brilliant, localized solutions our own experts are already building, and use those successes to inform our national strategy.

The stewardship of AI is a profound responsibility. By creating smart, balanced, and context-aware regulations, we can walk this tightrope successfully, ensuring that artificial intelligence in the Philippines is not just innovative, but also just, equitable, and truly Filipino.