J. Albert Gamboa l December 19, 2023 l Manila Bulletin
XIAMEN, CHINA – This coastal city formerly known as Amoy is fast becoming the most sophisticated metropolis in southern China and the main gateway of Southeast Asians to Fujian Province. An important port over the past centuries, Xiamen was one of China’s earliest special economic zones that were set up in 1980 along with the cities of Shenzhen, Shantou, and Zhuhai in Guangdong Province.
Fujian Province, where most Filipino Chinese families originated from, is the incubator of China’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Since 2012, it has hosted the facilities of Unisound – the top AI unicorn startup in China specializing in speech recognition and Internet of Things (IoT) services. Using the machine learning platform, Unisound has established a technology system in the fields of big data analysis, voice technology, knowledge computing, and language technology.
IoT is a network of physical objects embedded with sensors and software for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the Web. During a media group visit to Unisound’s Xiamen technopark, we learned about the convergence of AI and IoT as applied to the so-called “Smart AIoT” ecosystem. These include solutions for smart homes, smart offices, smart communities, and everything else smart – ranging from healthcare, education, and tourism to marketing, transportation, and accommodations.
The integration of AI and IoT is transforming entire industries and our daily lives as the world becomes increasingly interconnected. According to Google parent firm Alphabet Inc.’s CEO Sundar Pichai, “China is going to be at the forefront of AI and that’s a given” – with a scale of AI work that “is just astounding to see.”
During the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in San Francisco last month, Bloomberg’s Emily Chang interviewed Pichai on stage, and he called for more collaboration on AI between the United States and China while comparing the importance of global talks on AI to the summits on climate change such as COP28 in Dubai.
Washington-based International Trade Administration believes that “AI holds significant promise for improving the lives of Filipinos, bolstering local industries, and strengthening the national economy.” This is one sector that our government should focus on through the activation of the National Innovation Council and the Philippine Startup Development Program.
ACCELERATING TECH INNOVATION
Back home, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB), Philippine Stock Exchange-listed DFNN Inc., and Silicon Valley’s Plug & Play Ventures to be the founding anchors of the Horizon Philippines Project.
Through this joint project, they will collaborate to build and accelerate a thriving startup and innovation ecosystem in the Philippines with the goal of positioning the province of Bataan as a hub for technology, new employment opportunities, and sustainable economic development in the region.
DFNN President and Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Banaag said the Horizon Philippines Project is a commitment to nation building, spearheading innovation in various industries, and propelling inclusive digital transformation. DFNN’s exposure to emerging technologies and startups will shape the company’s core strategies from software development to AI and cloud solutions.
DICT has crafted the National AI Strategy that seeks to augment the existing skillsets of Filipino talents with AI by positioning the country as a center of excellence for AI. It has been an early and enthusiastic champion of forward-thinking initiatives like AI adoption to future-proof the nation’s digital economy.
Plug & Play is a leading venture capital firm and accelerator with a community of 80,000 startups and 550 corporate partners. Companies in its portfolio have raised almost $10 billion in funding, with successful exits including PayPal and Dropbox. In 2010, its Asia Pacific headquarters opened in Singapore and has since expanded to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand.
FAB is a special economic zone encompassing about 3,000 hectares along Manila Bay strategically located just over 100 kilometers from Metro Manila. It offers generous fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to businesses that are registered within the zone, whose workforce and infrastructure are ready to serve as a testbed for innovators in the fields of AI, IoT, and clean energy.
***.J. Albert Gamboa is a Life Member of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) and Vice-Chair of the FINEX Ethics Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and the Manila Bulletin. #FinexPhils www.finex.org.ph