POLANGUI, Albay - Former Congressman Joey Sarte Salceda recently unveiled and launched the establishment of the Albay Institute of Artificial Intelligence (AIAI), the first such local government driven learning institution in the country, and possibly in Asia.
Salceda said the institute will be "a place for learning, experimentation, and innovation." It will host programs that will teach young Albayanos how to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve problems and build enterprises from their solutions.
"Above all, we want people not to be afraid of AI, because whether we like it or not, AI is already there and continues to advance," he said, after signing a deed of donation for the site of the facility.
Salceda said AIAI is his birthday gift to the people of Polangui and Albay. The launching rites were held a day after his 64th birthday, which he celebrated on October 26. The 2,000-square-meter site will also house the Disaster Risk Reduction Training Institute, a leading Salceda advocacy, and the Land Transportation Office.
The institute will launch with free online programs and assessments, offering a National Certificate (NC) from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), according to its Program Director, Christian Dy.
A veteran legislator who ended his congressional term in May, Salceda now chairs the Institute for Risk and Strategic Studies, Inc., also known as the Salceda Research, a policy-oriented think tank based in Manila, which focuses vital issues such as economic and fiscal reforms, risk reduction and management, and other vital strategic policy concerns.
"Artificial intelligence has advanced faster than almost any other technology. What we thought would take 10 years materialized in just two years. Systems that looked experimental in 2022 could already pass professional examinations by 2024. Even TESDA's 2024 modules are now outdated," he noted.
"Artificial intelligence is the next leap. AI will also transform the economy", Salceda pointed out" but added as a country, the Philippines "is still behind when it comes to AI".
Salceda pointed out that the International Monetary Fund ranks the Philippines low in AI readiness. "In many universities, the first reaction to AI has been fear. Some schools even ban it completely. Only a few, like the University of the Philippines Los Baños, have rules that allow and guide its use. This attitude will make us even more ill-prepared for AI. Progress in human civilization has always followed improvements in computing," he added.
The veteran lawmaker said that "from writing to record trade, to mathematics for navigation, to machines that perform millions of calculations per second, each leap expands what the human mind could do".
"In Salceda Research, we reviewed college curricula under the Commission on Higher Education. In accounting, as much as 80 percent of tasks can already be done by AI. Most of what cannot be replaced by AI are related to judgment and systems thinking," he explained.
When I studied at the Asian Institute of Management, I learned that performance depends on judgment, intuition, and technique. Technique is the easiest to replace. Machines can now simulate intuition. But judgment cannot. We cannot build sound judgment if we are afraid of AI or treat it as something foreign, he pointed out.
Salceda said that "at the core of most AI systems is natural language processing, which allows computers to understand and generate human language. You no longer need to code. If you can describe your idea clearly, AI can turn it into code for you".
"The world will not slow down for those whom AI can outperform. We are entering a time when adaptation is not optional. We must prepare, learn, and lead", Salceda explained.
The veteran lawmaker said this follows what he referred to as his Salceda Doctrine, a framework for human empowerment that connects employability, entrepreneurship, production, culture, and science into one system of resilience, which involves the following:
"First, we must equip our people to be employable. A future-ready workforce must be grounded in science, digital literacy, and technical skills. AI makes this urgent. Climate change also requires new competence in renewable energy, resilient infrastructure, and adaptation;
"Second, we must empower our people to become employers and entrepreneurs. Micro, small, and medium enterprises make up a great percentage of all registered businesses and employ most of our workers;
'Third, we must make our people producers, especially in agriculture and small industries. Agriculture employs about a quarter of our labor force but contributes only a tenth of GDP. That gap shows how much productivity we have yet to unlock. Revitalizing production is not just about food security. It is about giving communities, especially in the countryside, a base for growth and resilience.
"Fourth, we must nurture our people in the arts. The creative economy contributes around seven percent to GDP and provides about five million jobs; and
"Fifth, we must advance science here in Albay. Our province has long been a living laboratory of nature and resilience. We live beside a volcano, along the typhoon belt, and within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Science must always guide our growth - from disaster risk reduction to climate adaptation and artificial intelligence."
Albay, he said, can lead Filipinos by showing how science can save lives, create livelihoods, and sustain development. "If the rest of the Philippines cannot move fast enough, Albay will take the lead and do it," he concluded.