• 8 hours ago
UP holds first AI conference

The University of the Philippines holds its first Artificial Intelligence conference, 'AI Horizons' at the UP-Bonifacio Global City on Oct. 24, 2024 discussing the use of AI in fields such as in agriculture, education, health, and materials engineering. UP President Angelo Jimenez and UP Special Adviser to the President for Research and Innovation Gisela Concepcion said the conference was part of the university's mandate to lead in innovation and academic standards, while also creating a community of AI practitioners, academics, developers and industry partners. Education Secretary Sonny Angara, said they were studying the possibility of regulating AI as he believes it could help both teachers and students in their schoolwork.

VIDEOS BY RED MENDOZA

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Transcript
00:00Thank you. UP's AI Power Research and Innovation Conference is unique, it's different.
00:09Because in UP we have AI expertise, but we also have the AI power experts in agriculture, fisheries and livestock for food security.
00:22We have our researchers in education and governance, in materials and energy.
00:29And in health and wellness. And we think that these are the top priority areas of national development in the country.
00:36So we think that UP and some members of academia from other universities can come together to make a difference.
00:45Meet with government and academia and industry to come up with AI powered solutions to the challenges we face today.
00:57So I stress that the university is part of our mandate to lead in innovation and set academic standards.
01:05That's under the law. Of course it doesn't mean that we're leading almost every area.
01:09But in particular, as you're aware, very early last year we came out with the first ever framework on artificial intelligence.
01:18It's here to stay. But the most important thing about this particular activity today is networking.
01:23We want to create a community of AI practitioners, academics, developers and industry partners as well.
01:31It's about time that we have initiatives like this and this will be a regular picture of our initiatives.
01:36So this is also part of our public service function, which is to bring the academe to the wider market.
01:48Not to benefit the Filipino people, but if somebody else would like to add, what can this activity offer?
01:55Yes. So AI in the Philippines has been there for decades.
02:05We've been doing AI for decades.
02:10LaSalle has been doing this for decades.
02:12And also UP, more or less the same.
02:15They're ahead by a few years.
02:17So at the start, of course, no one was paying attention to AI.
02:21So it's like an esoteric field.
02:24But over the years, it has reached the point that we can now harness AI.
02:32And AI by itself is really an interdisciplinary field.
02:37So it's not just algorithms, it's not just programming.
02:40We have that, but then it's not enough.
02:43So it's time actually to sort of make use of AI for national development.
02:50We have many problems, we have many challenges in the country.
02:53And these four sessions for today actually cover four very important areas that we need to address.
03:01So we want to make use of AI to address present issues in health and wellness, energy, education, and agriculture initially.
03:17Next year, we'll organize another forum, another conference like this.
03:22We'll cover other areas.
03:25But the thing is, AI, without coming out in a formal forum or program on this information, promotes critical thinking because it enables us to use it properly to get the widest base of information.
03:47This information can only be killed by the correct information.
03:53So it helps us look at things, it helps in critical thinking, look at things from a wider and more objective perspective.
04:03So it's already widely used right now.
04:07And when you use AI on any other part of the discipline, you cannot just limit it to there.
04:13Because the use of AI is universal.
04:16It is a way of thinking.
04:18Whether you're looking at health, you're looking at materials or energy, it is a way of using technology and it can apply to everything.
04:27So that's it.
04:29We have no specific program on this information.
04:34We expect the democratic spaces to be filled up with electoral campaigns.
04:39What we want to do is aid in critical thinking.
04:43So I think in UP, we value ethics.
04:49So it's paramount in our education.
04:52And it should start from youth.
04:54And so in the university, we actually have a hundred books on ethics in TVUP.
05:01And the creator of this series is our TVUP Executive Director, Grace Alfonso.
05:10She's here.
05:12She's here.
05:13And we have a feature on ethics in AI in particular.
05:19It's true, this information pervades in all areas, all disciplines, all applications, not just politics.
05:27Yeah, not limited to elections.
05:29Not limited to elections.
05:30But we have to start from youth.
05:32We have to teach them the good values.
05:35What are the possibilities there?
05:39Because we can see that the teachers really benefit from it.
05:42There is also a benefit for the students.
05:44So, and the beauty of AI is that the teacher can save time because he can focus on what he needs.
05:54And the advanced students can also go first because of the help of AI.
06:02But, Sek, of course, are you worried about the use of AI for, of course, cheating and other...
06:07Oh, yes.
06:09Yes, yes.
06:10We really have a policy there.
06:12We really have to respect it.
06:14If the teacher said that AI is not allowed, we really have to respect it.
06:18And if we have AI, there are also applications that are like your police, right?
06:26They monitor if the child uses AI.
06:29So, our principals and teachers should also monitor.
06:35If the student is up-to-date, the teachers should also be up-to-date.
06:39But will there be regulations on the use of AI?
06:45Similar to the U.S.
06:47Yeah, I think we'll have to do that at some point.

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