IMEE: REGULATE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

Ahead of the resumption of Senate sessions next week, Senator Imee Marcos filed a resolution on Friday calling for an inquiry into the uses of artificial intelligence (AI) and its possible displacement of workers in the country's services and manufacturing sectors.

Marcos, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development, expressed concern about the imminent loss of jobs particularly in business process outsourcing (BPO) and original equipment manufacturing (OEM) companies, which she credited for having shown huge potential in job creation despite the pandemic.

"AI is developing faster than most people can comprehend and is threatening to take away jobs and turn employment growth upside down," the senator warned.

"Will call center agents and factory workers soon be treated as dispensable, after propping up our economy during a global health crisis?" she asked, citing that at the height of Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 to 2021, the BPO industry grew by 10% to $29.5 billion.

Senate Resolution No. ___ cites the alarming prediction that at least 1.1 million jobs in the Philippines will disappear by 2028, based on a study by Oxford Economics and U.S.-based digital technology company Cisco.

Moreover, some 50% of organizations worldwide are seen adopting AI and automated machines this year, while investments in such technologies are projected to increase in the next three years by 50% to 100%, according to global consulting and advisory group Deloitte and professional services network KMPG, respectively.

Marcos stressed the urgency of educating lawmakers about global developments in AI technology through the Senate inquiry, and the need for both the legislative and executive branches of government to deal squarely with "an inevitable technological tsunami."

Before the widespread adoption of AI in business, she called it a "critical goal" for both houses of Congress to formulate regulatory measures against severe unemployment and to make the necessary amendments to the Intellectual Property Code, Revised Penal Code, and Cybercrime Prevention Act, among others.

Besides legal safeguards that government agencies can implement, Marcos also asserted that the future of CSR (corporate social responsibility) should include the "upskilling and training of workers in special services that AI cannot easily replace."

Call center, mga trabaho sa pabrika, namemeligro.. IMEE: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE KONTROLIN BAGO PA MAHULI ANG LAHAT!

Bago pa muling buksan ang sesyon ng senado sa susunod na linggo, naghain na ng resolusyon si Senador Imee Marcos para busisiin sa senado ang paggamit ng artificial intelligence (AI) at ang posibleng pag-eechapwera sa mga manggagawa sa services and manufacturing sector.

Nababahala si Marcos, chairman ng Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development, sa napipintong pagkawala ng mga trabaho partikular na sa business process outsourcing (BPO) at mga orihinal na equipment manufacturing (OEM) na kumpanya, na kanyang pinaniwalaang may malaking potensyal sa paglikha ng trabaho sa kabila ng pandemya.

"Ang AI ay umuunlad nang mas mabilis kaysa inaakala ng karamihan na posibleng magdulot ng mga kawalan ng trabaho at maging kabaligtaran ng paglago nito," babala ni Marcos.

"Malapit na bang ituring ang mga call center agent at factory worker na mga walang silbi, pagkatapos itaguyod ang ating ekonomiya sa panahon ng pandaigdigang krisis sa kalusugan?" tanong ng senador na nagbanggit na sa kasagsagan ng mga paghihigpit sa Covid-19 noong 2020 hanggang 2021, ang industriya ng BPO ay lumago ng 10% hanggang $29.5 bilyon.

Sa Senate Resolution No. 591 isinasaad dito ang nakababahalang prediksyon na tinatayang nasa 1.1 milyong mga trabaho sa Pilipinas ang malulusaw o mawawala pagsapit ng 2028, base na rin sa pag-aaral ng Oxford Economics at U.S. based digital technology company na Cisco.

Higit pa rito, nasa singkwenta porsyento o 50% na mga organisasyon sa buong mundo ang gumagamit ng AI at mga automated machine ngayong taon, habang ang mga pamumuhunan sa teknolohiya ay tinatayang papalo mula sa 50% hanggang 100% sa susunod na tatlong taon, ayon na rin sa global consulting and advisory group na Deloitte and professional services network KMPG.

Binigyang diin ni Marcos na dapat madaliin ang pagbibigay kaalaman sa mga mambabatas hinggil sa global development hinggil sa AI technology sa pamamagitan ng Senate inquiry, at kinakailangang kaharapin ito pareho ng lehislatibo at ehekutibo na isang hindi maiiwasang tsunami ng teknolohiya."

Bago pa kumalat ang paggamit ng AI sa lahat negosyo sa bansa, sinabi ni Marcos na kapwa krusyal na mithiin o dapat targetin ng dalawang kapulungan ng kongreso na bumuo ng mga regulatory measure laban sa matinding kawalan ng trabaho at gumawa ng kaukulang mga amyenda sa Intellectual Property Code, Revised Penal Code at Cybercrime Prevention Act.

Bukod sa mga legal na proteksyon na kayang ipatupad ng gobyerno, iginiit ni Marcos na sa future CSR ( corporate social responsibility), kinakailangang isama ang "upskilling at training ng mga manggagawa sa special services" na hindi basta-bastang mapapalitan ng AI.