DOST eyes ₱9.9-B fund for AI, data centers as PH gets UNESCO readiness report

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The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is targeting a PHP 9.9 billion investment to accelerate the Philippines’ artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, focusing on healthcare, agriculture, industry, and disaster risk reduction.

DOST Secretary Dr. Renato U. Solidum Jr. announced the funding plans while officially receiving the Philippines’ AI Readiness Assessment Report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on November 28 in Makati City.

In the official launch and handover of the Philippines’ AI Readiness Assessment Report event, Secretary Solidum, in a panel discussion, shared the stage with Ms. Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, UNESCO Director and Representative, Mr. Arnaud Peral, UN Philippines Resident Coordinator, Dr. Marco Gemmer, Head of Cooperation of the European Union to the Philippines, and Mr. Naoto Kanehira, Senior Digital Specialist from the World Bank.

“AI is opening tremendous opportunities for the Philippines. Through the National AI Strategy for the Philippines (NAIS-PH), we will ensure that AI innovation is accessible, ethical, and responsive to real societal needs. We warmly welcome the UNESCO AI Readiness Assessment Report and look forward to the strategic and inclusive collaborative efforts that will make the Philippines AI-ready”, the DOST Secretary said.

Solidum shared that the DOST’s investment targets AI-related projects spanning healthcare, agriculture, industry, workforce development, environment, disaster risk reduction, data centers, and emerging technology platforms.

These investments build on the prior investments between 2018-2024, DOST financed over 100 AI research and development projects and upskilling initiatives. The Secretary also shared that the DOST is establishing its own data center for a “geospatially-enabled country”.

To push forward for better AI adoption, Solidum highlighted the DOST’s initiatives on AI, data, and other frontier technologies such as the Democratized Intelligent Model Exchange Repository (DIMER), which serves as a digital model store where agencies, researchers, and developers can access ready-to-use AI models tailored to Filipino challenges or share their own developed machine learning models.

There is also the Computing and Archiving Research Environment (COARE), a high-performance computing facility, and complemented by the Philippine Research, Education, and Government Information Network (PREGINET).

In addition, to help the Filipino startups and micro-, small-, and medium enterprises and democratize AI, Solidum mentioned that the DOST has the Advancing Computing, Analytics, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence in the Philippines (ACABAI-PH) Program.

The ACABAI-PH Program provides accessible AI tools and pre-trained models to researchers, startups, and local government units across the nation, reducing the expenses and other needs for extensive infrastructure investments.

Focusing on ethics, UNESCO Director and Representative, Ms. Katsuno-Hayashikawa said, “It is critical for ethics to be the foundation of AI governance. It is what allows technology to remain connected to humanity, and what enables us to use knowledge as a force for inclusion and sustainable development. UNESCO deeply values the dedication of our national partners. Together, we have laid the path forward for a transformative and inclusive AI ecosystem.”

The handover event highlighted the implementation of the AI Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) in the Philippines, led by UNESCO in partnership with the various sectors in the country.

RAM is a tool that aims to measure the readiness of the countries to use AI ethically and responsibly for their citizens.

It is in line with the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, which reflects a set of values, principles, and actions to guide the countries in the formulation of their legislation, policies or other instruments regarding AI.

UNESCO conducted national meetings and policy consultation workshops across the country, in Manila, Cebu, and Davao, covering Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao since November 2023.

These workshops were participated by various stakeholders from the government, academe, and private sector.

Moving forward, the findings of the Philippines’ RAM Report can complement and support the development of NAIS-PH.

The DOST will continue to work with UNESCO on the second assessment tool, the Ethical Impact Assessment.