Juan Click AI-Head

By Herman Lagon

In a time when even your neighbor’s refrigerator might be smarter than the barangay captain’s meeting notes, one thing is clear: Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is no longer a futuristic buzzword thrown around in tech conferences and Netflix sci-fi flicks. It is here, humming silently behind your music recommendations, chatbots, Google searches, ride-hailing apps, and even the grammar checker that probably flagged this sentence. But for all its quiet genius, many of us still treat AI like an elective subject they never enrolled in. And yet, this is exactly why we need an AI 101 for every Juan and Maria.

The funny thing about AI is that people use it every day without realizing it. When your Tita finds her way to the latest Koreanovela on Netflix or your kuya scores a deal on Lazada because the algorithm just “knew” what he wanted, that is AI at work. But understanding how AI works is not just for techies or Chief Information Officers (CIOs) of industries. It is for every citizen who wants to thrive in a society where data—not just diplomas—is currency. Investing in AI is not simply buying machines that think, it is about cultivating a culture of curiosity, adaptability, and critical thinking that mirrors our own human evolution.

Let us be real. Our country, despite being social media savvy and high on smartphone penetration, remains a developing player in AI adoption. According to the World Economic Forum and even our own Department of Trade and Industry, we need to move from consumers of technology to creators. The Center for AI Research (CAIR), a DTI initiative, is a hopeful step. But it cannot be the only one. We need to invest in training not just engineers and coders, but also teachers, nurses, government clerks, and yes, even fish vendors, to understand the basics of AI and how it might shape their daily lives. Imagine an elementary teacher in Passi City using adaptive AI-driven learning modules tailored to each pupil’s pace. That is not science fiction. That is accessible technology—if only we make the effort.

Of course, AI brings ethical concerns. Deepfakes, algorithmic bias, and privacy nightmares are not plotlines; they are lived experiences in poorly regulated environments. AI is only as fair as the data we feed it and as just as the people who program it. That’s why we need to build AI with values at its core—transparency, accountability, integrity, and yes, a little compassion too. After all, you would not hand a kid a kitchen knife without first showing them how to hold it right and use it wisely. The same goes for tech this powerful. The same goes for AI. As educators, public servants, and concerned citizens, we have a moral obligation to advocate not just for digital tools but for digital literacy and integrity.

SUCs and LGUs have a golden opportunity here. In Iloilo alone, we have a growing network of CIOs pushing for digital transformation in public institutions. The challenge is to make AI work not just for the imperial Metro Manila but for the regions—where issues like poverty, illiteracy, misinformation, and limited access to services are more acute. AI can help diagnose crop diseases in remote farms, flag anomalies in local budget execution, or even predict disaster impacts before they happen. But to do all this, we need more than broadband. We need brave leadership, updated curricula, and trust in public-private-academe partnerships.

Let us not forget the role of education. At the university level, we must go beyond teaching students how to code and compute. We must train them to ask: What problem am I trying to solve? What values are at stake? AI should not just be a technical course. It should be a conversation across disciplines—from philosophy to fisheries. In my recent session on AI integration with mathematics teachers and students of MTAP held in Pisay and in an interview about AI with Bombo Radyo Iloilo’s Good Morning Philippines, I emphasized how AI must be a tool to enhance, not replace, human reasoning. The goal is not to make students memorize answers or soak in the processes, but to help them ask better questions and look for more elegant solutions.

AI literacy also needs to trickle down to the grassroots. Barangay health workers can use AI-powered diagnostic tools. Market vendors can tap into predictive analytics to decide what produce will likely sell best next week. Young learners can use gamified AI modules to master reading and math. The potential is limitless, but only if we include everyone in the conversation. Leaving AI to the tech elite or to those who can afford to spend for it would be like giving only the rich a vaccine in the middle of a pandemic. The true power of AI lies in democratization.

This is not to say AI will solve all our problems. Some jobs will vanish. New ones will emerge. But what AI offers is a chance to rethink how we live, learn, and lead. And if we do it right, we can make our country not just a consumer of global tech but a cradle of homegrown innovation. We already have the brains. What we need now is the boldness to back them with better infrastructure, policy support, and most of all, trust in our own capacity to evolve.

So if you are still wondering whether to invest in AI, do not look for answers in Hollywood thrillers. Look at your phone. Your school. Your office. Your family. AI is not coming. It is already here, ubiquitously. The question is, will we shape it—or will it shape us?

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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.