MANILA -- A technology advocacy group said the Philippines needs to become an 'asset' in the development of artificial intelligence in the same way that the country became a player in the development of blockchain platforms and apps.

Catz Jalandoni, country director of the Global AI Council, said they envision the Philippines eventually moving from users of AI apps to developing apps themselves, in the same way that Filipinos became blockchain developers when the technology first emerged.

"When the advent of blockchain as a platform happened, the Filipinos became developers. We were an asset. That was a workforce that the Philippines represented. We want that for AI as well," Jalandoni said in an interview with ANC's Business Outlook.

Jalandoni, however also said that the country needs to have a unified roadmap for AI if it wants to attract investors into developing the technology here.  

"We're being bypassed for investments. We're being bypassed for business opportunities and that's something that it's not too late [to correct]," Jalandoni said.

She explained that the country can still catch up because companies that develop AI have been investing in different countries.

"It's just that of course if we're not as transparent yet on how a company or an investor can be supported here, it's going to start later than sooner," she added.

She noted that other countries already have a unified roadmap for AI.

"So it's very easy for investors or bigger companies to identify where to go to in that particular country because they know specifically the support they have from zero to 100. So that's something that we need to work fast here, and that's why we want everyone to talk.

Kate Hancock, a founder of the Global AI Council, meanwhile said that the Philippines may also opt to just utilize the existing AI tools.  

"In my own personal opinion, I think we do best with utilizing what's out there because we don't really have the fund," Hancock said.

She added that other countries like the US and China already have a massive talent pool and budget to build AI infrastructure.

"So I think that's how we're going to win, not by building. Because we're not really known as building of the next unicorn of technology--that's too ambitious at this point, right? That's how I see things. But really utilizing what makes sense and create that road map that works for everybody," Hancock said.

Jalandoni meanwhile said the Global AI Council Philippines wants the Philippines to have an ethical AI roadmap as early as this year.

"That's how fast it is," she said.

In 2021, the Department of Trade and Industry announced a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Roadmap which aims to make the country a regional hub for AI-based solutions and data analytics.

In 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the country was crafting a National AI Strategy that seeks to augment the existing skillset of Filipino talents with AI, and position the Philippines as a center of excellence in artificial intelligence.