Empower Filipinos of all ages and levels to maximize AI use – DOST

by Patricia B. Mirasol, Producer

In order to maximize artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool, Filipinos from every age and every level of society will need to be capacitated on its use, experts say.

Franz A. de Leon, director of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST)’s Advanced Science and Technology Institute, said that it is best to start capacity building at an early age.

“The interest in science, math, etc… if it’s just at the university level, it might be too late,” he said at the second day of the AI Horizons PH 2024 conference. “We want to engage the youth.”

“The more we diffuse this technology to the very least of our citizens, the more they can gain from it,” also said Enrico C. Paringit, executive director of the DoST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development.

“The reason why ChatGPT [an AI model that’s designed to generate human-like text based on the input it receives] is so ubiquitous is because it’s so accessible,” he told the audience of the same October 25 event.

“It must have that type of accessibility,” he added, “to achieve the type of impact that you want.”

With 189 scientists per million people , the Philippines has lower than the UNESCO recommendation of 380 per million.

The DoST has been creating 21st century learning environment models (CLEM) since 2018 to help meet the demand for such professionals.

The 21st century CLEM is a school-based classroom setup equipped with technologies such as robotics, three-dimensional modelling and printing, and virtual and augmented reality. It aims to promote teaching and learning skills and is intended as a support system to the education department’s K-12 curriculum.

The 16th and latest one was launched on October 14 in Cavite’s Angelo L. Loyola Senior High School.

The bulk of the investment is from the local government unit, which situates the facility in schools that are managed by the Department of Education, explained Albert G. Mariño, director III of DoST’s Science Education Institute (SEI).

“Parati namin inu-update yung mga resources dito (We update the resources in these classrooms),” he said at the October 14 launch. “Kung anong ma-develop naming bago, nilalagay po namin dito (We always incorporate whatever new technology we develop).”

Students who qualify for SEI’s undergraduate scholarship program can join the roster of the country’s scientists, researchers, and engineers, he said.

“Yan kailangan ng ating bansa dahil sila yung nagiisip ng new knowledge at nagde-develop ng new technologies (This is what the country needs, because it’s the scientists, researchers, and engineers that discover new knowledge and develop new technologies),” he added.

Children nowadays have an “easy grasp of technology,” Mr. De Leon said at AI Horizons PH 2024. “If we can do some intervention and engage them from the start, that would be good.”