Fear of AI is caused by unfamiliarity, says DOST

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said the people’s fear of artificial intelligence may be from a lack of familiarity with the technology.

In an interview with GMA News Online, Solidum said previous technological advancements such as the internet and mechanization were met by the public with similar obstacles and issues.

“They haven't tried it, and essentially they think that the AI will simply make them run out of jobs… People learn how to develop new jobs and new skills for them to adapt to new technology,” he said.

“Definitely for jobs that will be repetitive, it will be more effective and efficient if there will be more automation, but our focus on the use of AI as a strategy in the country is to make it more human centered where we will use AI to improve our work,” he added.

Solidum said DOST will encourage upskilling and encourage the use of AI to help increase familiarity with newer technological advancements.

The agency is working on developing programs to enable MSMEs and employees to facilitate improvement.

“The real challenge now is compute power and skills. And so to really merge the application of AI into business, we need to increase our compute power and we need to upskill, we cannot wait for all of the organizations to have compute power for all employees, existing employees to be upskilled,” he shared.

“We will also federate the use of AI where our regional offices in tandem with universities or other departments of government or the local government will help… Sabi ko nga, use natural intelligence or diskarte in applying AI, and we will be there to help our partners, so we will guide them,” he added.

DOST is also set to launch the National Artificial Intelligence Center for Research and Innovation or NAICRI on February 26, showcasing current efforts in AI infrastructure, platforms and tools.

Earlier, the agency shared that they were pushing for a human-centered AI national framework in the country and aimed to develop a more inclusive system by customizing DOST’s support based on the capacities of their industry partners. — BAP, GMA Integrated News