ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) holds the potential to aid the Philippines in disease prediction, water shortage forecasting, and development, a physicist and data science expert said during the UST Research Fortnight 2026.
This year’s series of research fora and exhibits, themed “Digital Humanities and Biotechnology,” challenged scholars to rethink how emerging technologies can reshape research and nation-building without losing sight of what it means to be human.
Keynote speaker Christopher Monterola, an academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology, described AI as both a disruptive force and a powerful tool for development.
A physicist who has worked on AI since 1995, Monterola has done research on how the brain works and how intelligent machines can be applied to nation-building.
“AI is driving a cultural shift. It’s transforming technical fields, public health, creative industries, and almost every aspect of society,” he said. “We are entering the fifth industrial revolution — humans being augmented by machines.”
Monterola pointed to examples of AI-driven augmentation, including a neural implant that allows a person without hands and feet to play video games, as a sign that human-machine integration is accelerating.
He cited projections estimating that AI could displace 85 million jobs globally by 2030, while creating 97 million new roles, particularly in emerging technology fields.
“The good thing is that if you become part of those 97 million jobs, since they are emerging jobs, they tend to be high-paying,” he said.
Monterola also showed a video of AI-powered hotel assistants communicating with one another to illustrate what he called a central challenge: while AI technology already exists, its benefits remain unevenly distributed.
Job displacement is already occurring, he warned, citing recent layoffs in technology companies and reports that one bank had increased projected job cuts from 4,000 to 12,000 roles.
Monterola said AI’s impact was visible across sectors, describing the technology as “domain agnostic,” meaning it can be applied to government, business, academia, and civil society.
In a project under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, regulators who previously spent 40 person-hours reviewing each of 500 financial institutions — about 20,000 person-hours monthly — were able to reduce the process to just 11 minutes using AI tools, he said.
“These applications show how AI can be tailored to Philippine realities,” Monterola said. “We need science customized to the Philippine setting.”
Ethical concerns
Monterola warned of emerging ethical challenges, including technologies that could eventually reconstruct thoughts from brain scans or replicate a person’s thinking through digital models.
“Are you ready for an era when lying will be difficult?” he asked, referring to future technologies that could decode mental imagery.
He raised concerns about “digital thought cloning,” describing how recorded conversations and large datasets could be used to build an AI model that mirrors a person’s thinking, enabling others to access a “digital alter ego” long after someone is gone.
Monterola said he had created a digital twin of himself that students could consult “24/7,” noting it had changed how people sought guidance from him.
Still, he described himself as a “techno-optimist,” expressing hope that AI could help advance the country’s Ambisyon Natin 2040 vision and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“Data science and AI are not the answers, They are tools to expand our imagination and hopefully build a happier and more meaningful world.”
Interdisciplinary collaboration
In his opening remarks, Vice Rector for Research and Innovation Fr. Jannel Abogado, O.P. said technological advancement should never redefine what it means to be human.
He recalled watching an online interview with an artificial intelligence advocate who allows a platform to make decisions on his behalf after uploading his personal data—even for everyday choices such as where to eat.
But the “digital personality” an AI constructs from a person’s data is not human because it lacks awareness, Abogado said.
“Digital humanity,” he added, is not a substitute personality built from digital footprints but the responsible use of technology, “allowing his or her humanity to shine like a candle placed on a candlestick to illuminate human relationships.”
Abogado cited practical examples, such as using AI tools to complete tasks more efficiently or navigation apps to avoid traffic so people can spend more time with their families.
When misused, he said, digital technologies cease to be humane and undermine genuine human development.
Assoc. Prof. Michael Jorge N. Peralta, an official at the Office of the Vice Rector for Research and Innovation, underscored the importance of collaboration across disciplines as AI becomes more embedded in research.
“The key word here is collaboration. Inventions and technologies now are being created not just as products of one mind, but as a collection, a dialogue between disciplines,” Peralta told the Varsitarian.
He emphasized the need for ethical training as students integrate AI into research and academic work.
“Ethics subjects are being taught, not only professional ethics,” he said. “Students must learn how to use AI to their advantage, to improve productivity in academics and research but ethically.”
Peralta called for innovations in assistive technologies, particularly wearable devices that could help persons with disabilities reintegrate into society. Nyl R. Dadiz
