In Digital Rights Report 2024, FMA spotlights AI’s impact on basic freedoms

In 2024, the country marked the 30th anniversary of the Philippine internet. First accessed in 1984, the internet has opened a wealth of opportunities for Filipinos to connect, learn, and access information. But three decades since, it has also shown how technology can deepen existing socio-political crises, especially in the wake of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

With the accessibility and resources AI can offer, this digital tool has come with both advantages and disadvantages. In 2024, 84 per cent of the Filipino workforce was found to have been adopting AI tools in their work to boost productivity and efficiency. This statistic is noted to be the highest in the world as the global average only sits at 75 per cent. However, as much as Filipinos are leveraging technology to improve their work, the country saw a surge in AI-generated misinformation that targeted journalists, politicians, and other public figures.

As AI is seen to radically transform our institutions and lives, governments and organizations alike are looking into curbing the potential harms of this technology. The ubiquity of AI compelled the Philippine Supreme Court and the Central Bank of the Philippines (BSP) to draft regulatory frameworks for ethical AI use in the judiciary and financial sector, respectively. The Department of Education also eyed creating a policy on responsible AI use for the country’s education system. During the 19th Congress, several bills on AI were filed, which included HB 7913, an act pushing for the establishment of a regulatory framework for AI usage.

With the rate that the country is adapting to emergent technologies, the conversations on digital rights consequently deepened, especially on the issues of privacy and cybersecurity. The recently passed Digital Services Act further underscores this shift as it intends to strengthen the country’s digital economy. But this policy was also met with contention as it will hike the price of essential digital goods and services.

This edition of the Digital Rights Report 2024 covers the trends and developments in the digital rights landscape in the Philippines and the impacts of these changes in the daily lives of the Filipino public.