Artificial Intelligence (AI) can both be an advantage and a disadvantage for nations, depending on how prepared or unprepared they are for what it may bring. As the world transitions into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), AI can help make our industry and government processes much more efficient, which can pave a way for the Philippines to develop new industries; it can also help innovate and transform what we currently have. On the other hand, AI, as many know, can disrupt jobs; some jobs, especially menial and routine-driven ones, will be lost to automation. However, AI can also create new jobs and opportunities. Finally, the prevalence of AI will also prompt governments to deal with data privacy and AI ethics issues.

Indeed, there is a need for the Philippine government to be more deliberate in planning for our nation as we face the era of AI and 4IR in general. The government needs to carefully think about how we can create an AI ecosystem in the Philippines and how we can truly take advantage of AI technology to solve our society’s problems and make our industries more competitive regionally, if not globally.

This AI roadmap is created as a guide in codifying and devising a strategy of national preparedness to maximize the benefits from employing AI technologies and developing AI economies.