Flor G. Tarriela l July 11, 2023 l Manila Bulletin
Generative AI how it can affect you and your work processes was presented by Dominic Vincent Ligot, founding member of Analytics Association of the Philippines. This was the topic at the June meeting of the Filipina CEO Circle (FCC) sponsored by the FCC ladies of the BPO sector held at the “intelligent” JP Morgan Chase Tower in Fort Bonifacio.
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Mr. Ligot said it is a convergence of so many fields such as machine learning, natural language processing, classification and clustering, information extraction, speech, image recognition, machine vision etc. Per AI definition, AI is “artificial intelligence that refers to the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. It involves creating machines or software programs that can learn, reason and make decisions based on data and algorithms.” What is generative AI? Generative AI is a type of AI system capable of generating text, images, or other media in response to prompts. Generative AI models learn the patterns and structure of their input training data and then generate new data that has similar characteristics.
Mr. Ligot expounded on many practical uses of AI to make work easier. From data, AI can identify patterns, trends and make recommendations. On financials, AI can create interactive visualizations of revenue trends and patterns to identify growth opportunities and optimize pricing strategies. On computer vision, AI can process analyze images, photos, and videos. Computer vision algorithms can analyze financial documents and automate data extraction, improve cost control, and reduce manual errors. Character recognition and biometrics. Some have experienced the wonders of “Siri”/ “Alexa”
“Google Assistant” to ask questions and get responses, even play favorite music. Use Waze and google maps to direct us in this traffic. Mr. Ligot mentioned some machine limitations, example: chinky eyes seen as “eyes closed” or unable to distinguish between small dog’s face and bun with raisins. Natural language processing-chatbots, text, speech, sentiment analysis and topics. Ask to write on any topic and it will. My
friend sent his mother-in-law (MIL) a beautiful poem on her birthday using ChatGPT (AIChatbot launched in November 2022) which made her cry with joy. If used in essays and term papers for schoolwork,how will academe respond? Mr. Ligot also cautioned not all information accurate.
Should we be afraid of AI? When should AI come in? Interesting was Mr. Ligot’s presentation of the matrix of Uncertainty and Complexity. If low uncertainty (solution is straight forward) and low complexity (limited decision variables) best is to AUTOMATE, Use AI. If high uncertainty (solution not straight forward) and low complexity, use HUMAN. If high uncertainty and high complexity (large number of decision variables),
should be AI DRIVEN, meaning AI GUIDED by HUMANS. If low uncertainty and high complexity, good to use ANALYTICS meaning HUMANS AIDED by AI.
On jobs and careers Mr. Ligot confirmed that menial, repetitive, are the fastest declining jobs: bank tellers, cashiers, accounting, bookkeeping, clerical and the like. Fastest growing are AI and Machine Learning specialists, Sustainability specialists, Business Intelligence analysts, Information Security analysts, Fintech engineers, Data analysts and Scientists, robotic engineers, Digital Transformation Specialists etc. And tops skills in demand now? According to World Economic Forum: analytical thinking; creative thinking; resilience, flexibility and agility; motivation and self-awareness, curiosity and lifelong learning, technological literacy, dependability and attention to detail, empathy and active listening, leadership and social influence and quality control. Continuing debate whether AI pose a threat to humans? Awesome or a risk?
FCC events are fun with excellent food and great networking with empowered ladies. Always informative and leave us with thoughts to ponder on.
*** Who will be the ING FINEX CFO in 2023? The prestigious search for the Philippines most outstanding
CFO is on! Please send nomination to FINEX +639173123044.
Ms. Tarriela was former chairman of Philippine National Bank. former Undersecretary of Finance and the
First Filipina Vice President of Citibank N.A. She is PNB Board Advisor, Nickel Asia’s Lead Independent
Director, and a Director of LT Group Inc., FINEX. A gardener and an environmentalist, she founded
Flor’s Garden in Antipolo.