We need to rethink artificial intelligence (AI) education, and upskilling is necessary with AI and the future of smart cities, says Dr. Adrienne Heinrich, the head of AI and Innovation Center of Excellence at Aboitiz Data Innovation, on the sidelines of the inaugural AI Summit PH 2023.
Speaking with CoinGeek Backstage, Dr. Heinrich says that AI will play a dominant role in our lives, and to ride on this technology, the workforce will have to change, starting with educating the masses on how to reap its benefits.
“In the Philippines, there is such an immense potential that I think [is] still hidden that we can unlock with better education and upskilling the workforce because this country is definitely innovation hungry. We just need to give the right tools,” she said.
The boom in AI continues to reach its peak, but Dr. Heinrich thinks that the societal level uptake still hasn’t advanced, believing that the emphasis should still be on reskilling.
As for her views regarding blockchain and AI integration, Dr. Heinrich believes that both technologies could come and interplay. However, the top priority for the head of the AI and Innovation Center of Excellence at Aboitiz is developing AI tools that can leverage both technologies.
“With blockchain, you can ensure that security is there on your data. This means that more people may be willing to share their data, and AI is data-hungry, right? So, with the better data, we can provide better services, and because of this democratization, there will be more players and more competition,” Dr. Heinrich notes.
“We first still need to step to that level where we have AI-developed tools ready that we can leverage them and the same for blockchain. And then we think of this combination and more complex frameworks around this,” she adds.
In the blockchain ecosystem, nChain—the global leader in Web3 and blockchain solutions firm—with the support of the Philippines’ government, had the same take concerning AI and blockchain education.
On August 8, the company officially launched the Block Dojo Philippines, an incubator program that aims to train Filipino startups eager to build real-world applications that would solve technology and real-world problems faced by local communities.
The incubator program is set to start in January 2024 in the province of Bataan.
Watch: Block Dojo goes beyond handing cheques to blockchain startups
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