By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter
PHILIPPINE companies struggle to reap the benefits of their artificial intelligence (AI) investments after failing to shed their legacy practices in gathering and organizing data, according to US integration and automation firm Boomi.
“If you look at the Philippines themselves, chief executive officers are talking about boosting AI adoption, but they struggle, like many companies across Southeast Asia (and) the Asia-Pacific as a whole, with the RoI (return on investments) because of those weak data foundations,” David Irecki, chief technology officer for Asia-Pacific and Japan at Boomi, said in a virtual interview.
Citing the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development’s policy note on AI, Mr. Irecki noted that many firms in the Philippines still rely on manual data collection.
“As a result, the data that would be really valuable to provide context for the AI platform is unavailable,” he said.
Data quality is also key challenge for Philippine companies, especially in rural areas, Mr. Irecki added.
Companies that struggle with data quality and liquidity will have a hard time scaling AI beyond pilot-testing, he said.
“When agents are acting on incomplete data or they make unexplainable decisions, companies have to start worrying about error scaling.”
Mr. Irecki said an AI-ready company has digitized and discoverable data; can easily integrate AI technology across workflows; and has governance and security measures in place.
He also cited the need to balance AI autonomy with accountability by deploying human auditors for AI agents.
“Otherwise, you’re scaling the risk and not the value within your business,” Mr. Irecki said.
“The idea is you’re using AI not to automate what you already do, but to create systems that can adapt as conditions change,” Mr. Irecki said.
AI technologies can generate P1.8 trillion in economic benefits for Philippine companies with improved digital access and skills training, according to a report by Google Philippines and consulting firm Public First.