MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday ordered the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to capacitate micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) by introducing them to artificial intelligence (AI) to help them navigate economic uncertainties and comply with the changing technological demands.
Marcos issued the directive during a sectoral meeting at the Malacañan Palace, according to a Presidential Communications Office (PCO) news release.
The DTI does not need to discuss in detail the intricacies of AI systems to MSMEs, only its practical applications and importance to their business operations, Marcos said.
‘We are not teaching them to be engineers, AI engineers. We’re not teaching them to be blockchain engineers. We’re teaching them how to use the system that we have provided. That, I think, we have to be clear about that,’ Marcos was quoted as saying by the PCO.
‘Don’t teach the theory that goes on behind it, but just teach what it is that they need to use the AI. That’s the whole poin
t of AI, you just talk, that’s where we want to get them to,’ he said.
The President added that the government’s efforts to introduce MSMEs to AI systems would help ensure the ease of doing business.
In 2022, MSMEs comprised 99.59 percent of total establishments in the Philippines, contributing 65.10 percent to total employment, highlighting their huge impacts on jobs and livelihood in the country, the PCO noted.
Source: Philippines News Agency
