In May 2021 the Department of Trade and Industry launched an ambitious national AI roadmap, aiming to make the country a regional leader in artificial intelligence. The strategy seeks to accelerate AI adoption to advance industrial development, foster entrepreneurship, and create higher-paying job opportunities for Filipinos.
The roadmap outlines plans for a National Centre for AI Research to assist small and medium enterprises in adopting AI technologies. It also proposes building a national data centre and identifies various sectors for AI application, including finance, surveillance, education, healthcare, and transportation.
To support this vision, the government launched the SPARTA initiative in 2020 to upgrade the skills of 30,000 workers in data analytics and AI-related fields. By late 2022, over 40,000 scholarships had been awarded under this programme.
The Philippines has established a comprehensive data protection regime through its Data Privacy Act of 2012. This law aims to protect the fundamental right to privacy while ensuring the free flow of information to promote innovation and growth. It led to the creation of the National Privacy Commission, an independent body responsible for enforcing data protection regulations.
The Commission has been active in its role, registering over 23,000 Data Protection Officers by 2018 and handling an increasing number of privacy-related cases. It has also endorsed international resolutions on AI ethics and accountability through the Global Privacy Assembly.
In 2022, the Commission issued new guidelines on the registration of automated decision-making systems, aiming to promote transparency and accountability in data processing.
While the Philippines' AI roadmap does not explicitly address algorithmic transparency, the country's data protection laws do provide some rights related to automated processing. Citizens have the right to be informed about the processing of their personal information and can access information about automated access methods.
The government is implementing a national biometric ID system, which has raised some privacy concerns. Law enforcement agencies have also begun using facial recognition technology, prompting debates about surveillance and civil liberties.
On the international stage, the Philippines has endorsed the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI and participated in the 2023 AI Safety Summit, committing to the Bletchley Declaration on responsible AI development. The country has also joined efforts to regulate autonomous weapons systems, proposing a draft treaty at the United Nations.
However, human rights organisations have raised concerns about the overall human rights situation in the Philippines, with Freedom House rating the country as only "Partly Free" in its global freedom scores.
This country report is our interpretation and summary of the "CAIDP Artificial Intelligence & Democratic Values Index 2023". The full report can be found here - https://www.caidp.org/reports/aidv-2023/