NEW technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) along with businesses’ move to go digital is set to create more jobs and give customers more choices, business heads said.
“What digitalization really is about is to be able to give the customers the power to make more decisions for themselves,” Angkas Founder Angeline Tham said during the BusinessWorld Economic Forum 2023 at the Grand Hyatt Manila in Taguig City on Thursday.
For the customers of Angkas, a motorcycle ride-hailing application, digitalization has given customers an option to go from point A to point B, said Ms. Tham.
EJ Dela Vega, director and country head for mobility at Grab Philippines, said that the use of technology helps in looking for the most efficient ways of transport.
“Changes as simple as the ability to share your ride with your family so they know your vehicle’s location are the ways we use technology to drive digitalization in transportation,” said Mr. Dela Vega.
Grab is also using technology to warn its partner riders in terms of their speed and how long they are working, he added.
“We want to be able to prevent accidents before they can happen. Because we have all our driver’s information, like how long they are working, we can warn them,” he said.
Aileen Anunciacion R. Zosa, president and chief executive officer of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, said the use of AI makes operations more efficient.
“AI will not have a negative effect on our developments because AI will make our operations more efficient. Even if we have high power and water rates, AI will compensate through the efficiency that it will provide to our systems,” Ms. Zosa said.
“In our transport systems, we are also looking at autonomous vehicles, while there may be some effect in employment, these people will be moved to more value-adding jobs in our industrial parks and in our knowledge-based industries,” she added.
Mr. Dela Vega and Ms. Tham both said that AI is just a tool and what matters is how businesses or an individual decide to use it.
“AI is not a means to an end; it’s how you use it. We use it to look at public behavior, [like] how frequently they book, which allows us to provide credit,” Mr. Dela Vega said.
“But ultimately, I think as long as you are using the tool for good, AI and smartphones will actually generate more jobs,” he added.
“AI is how you choose to use it. We actually want to use AI to make sure that we create a platform where anyone can get a job whatever skill sets they have. Because the platform will be the one to guide them through what they need to do step by step,” Ms. Tham said.
She said one of the positive aspects of AI is how it makes things simple for people, helping them to be more productive and find a job regardless of their background.
“I think it is important to think very deeply into who you serve as a stakeholder to be able to refine what is really beneficial to them,” she added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile