PH as AI 'center of excellence' among DTI's goals

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) wants the Philippines to be an artificial intelligence (AI) center of excellence in the region.

This plan was disclosed by Trade Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba on Tuesday during the Senate finance committee hearing on the department’s proposed P7.91 billion budget for fiscal year 2024.

The discussion on DTI’s AI initiatives was brought up during the Senate hearing when Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda noticed the unfunded programs of the department under the 2024 National Expenditures Program (NEP), including the Center for Artificial Intelligence Research (CAIR).

“It’s a physical center, and the goal, of course, is for us to become an AI center of excellence in the region in the near future,” Aldaba told the senators.

According to the DTI official, the proposed building will house data scientists, researchers, and engineers who will be conducting AI research and development.

The research is aimed to support the needs of industries including micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), start-ups, large companies, and multinational industries, she said.

The center will also provide numerous training and capacity buildings on AI to come up with new products and services, she added.

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said the research center is modeled after the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) of Singapore.

This will be an industry-oriented research where MSMEs will be assisted in adapting AI in their operations.

Aside from this, Pascual said the center will also conduct research on the impact of AI on employment, AI ethics, among others.

Aldaba said they have been proposing P200 million for this center for two years, but their requests have not been granted.

Legarda told the DTI that there must be a reason why the Department of Budget and Management did not fund their initiative and added that the agency can push through with their AI program pending the construction of the building.

“It would take two years minimum? That means all our research on AI will not ensue until the structure is done and then we fund the acquisition of computers, etcetera. So that will be 2025 and beyond. So, by the time all the ASEAN neighbors advanced na sa AI, tayo wala,” she said.

“While the infrastructure is not yet set up, hindi ba dapat nagtutuloy na tayo ng ating AI workshops and capacity building and research?” she asked.

But Aldaba maintained that they still need funding for the procurement of super computers and the hiring of necessary staff.

“We don’t have the resources to hire people, as well as, to procure the super computers that would be needed. But we do a lot of coordination, we do a lot of workshops and seminars to help people become more aware of the usefulness of adapting AI technology,” she said.

Pascual also disclosed that there were some business groups, which were later on identified as Aboitiz and UnionBank, who offered them space for the AI research and development center.

However, Pascual said they were offered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) a loan amounting to around 300 to 400 million US dollars. This led them to consider incorporating the AI center into an “innovation hub.” 

In the same hearing, Aldaba mentioned that the DTI is forming a task force that would support the government in crafting a “governance framework on AI.”

“AI can also be used to promote bad things but what we are promoting is good AI and responsible AI and hence, the need for governance framework which is part of the work that we are doing and I think this would address your concern on the work that we are currently pursuing apart from the part to implement and build the center for AI research,” she said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News