Philippines Participates in UNESCO Discussions on AI Readiness

PARIS 25 February 2025 - At the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit co-hosted by France and India, UNESCO organized a ministerial session on AI Governance entitled “Preparing AI for the World, Preparing the World for AI” which sought to build on the momentum established by UNESCO’s first and second Global Forum on the Ethics of AI held in Czech Republic in 2022 and in Slovenia in 2024, as well as the series of Global Dialogues on AI Governance in 2024. The session also set the stage for the third Global Forum on the Ethics of AI, scheduled to take place in Thailand this year.

Ministers from Peru, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Thailand reflected on key lessons, best practices and challenges encountered in their respective experiences in readying and aligning policies, strategies and peoples for the AI transition.

Philippine Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr., shared that a key lesson from the Philippines’ experience is the importance of integrating AI ethics, governance and capacity-building in national policies while ensuring that AI benefits are accessible to all sectors of society.

Secretary Solidum cited as examples in the Philippines’ preparations for AI the AI PINAS and Smarter Philippines through Data Analytics Research and Development, Training and Adoption (SPARTA) initiatives, where over 49,000 individuals were upskilled in data science and AI to ensure that the workforce is prepared for an AI-driven economy. Furthermore, he noted that the Philippines is developing AI as a service for government agencies, local industries and researchers and democratizing access to AI infrastructure, resources and expertise. Hon. Solidum also discussed how the Philippines is working towards increasing investments in AI infrastructure and adopting the right policies, aligned with the AI Roadmap of the Department of Science and Technology, in order to unlock AI’s full potential to improve people’s lives and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. END

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