00:00The Department of Science and Technology, or DOSD, is pushing to integrate Artificial Intelligence, or AI, as a vital component to its programs, as are Denise Osorio reports.
00:12In its second year, the Department of Science and Technology's ASTACON has once again underlined the government's dedication to drive science and technology forward in search of modern solutions for the Filipino people.
00:25This year, ASTACON 2025 shines the spotlight on Artificial Intelligence, or AI, a technology gradually being developed to tackle pressing issues in healthcare, agriculture, education, and disaster readiness.
00:41According to Undersecretary Lea Buendia, AI is no longer just some high-tech experiment confined to labs, as it's now becoming part and parcel of real-world initiatives.
00:52So, we're starting off to make sure that AI will be there and to be used, and this is what we call agham na ramdang.
01:06Buendia explained that the programs under ASTACON form part of the National AI Strategy Framework, rolled out by the current administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
01:16AI is a tool. At the end of the day, garbage in, garbage out. So, what data you generate is very important for you to have a very good result using AI.
01:30But I think with this new generation, AI has been very facilitative, and that is the role of AI, to facilitate things, to make more computing even faster, and to make things and develop more solutions.
01:54So, I think we're not far behind, I believe, in Filipino ingenuity.
02:03One of the standout projects showcased at ASTACON 2025 is the Resilient Education Information Infrastructure for the New Normal, or RAIN,
02:12a system designed to bring education to communities with barely any internet access.
02:18According to RAIN's Project Head Engineer, Philip Martinez of DOST-ASTI, through technologies like LocalFi and Digital TV, it's now possible to deliver educational content offline.
02:31Right now, we have pilot installations or deployments across five regions in Luzon Island, and we hope to expand it to more schools.
02:40Now, in this pilot stage, we are testing the technology on how the communities are able to use it and fine-tune the technologies so that we can better serve the communities that we serve.
02:53Martinez adds, with the help of AI and potential local partners for large-scale production of devices, the project could become even more efficient and affordable.
03:02We are looking at how to integrate AI in summarizing content that we have stored in the technologies.
03:11We are looking at how if our low-power and low-cost equipment can actually power AI.
03:20So, pwede kasing subset of AI na pwede for low-power equipment.
03:25Denise Osorio from the National Television Network for a new and better Philippines.
