From practical to smart solutions

As one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, the Philippines continues to face growing challenges from climate change phenomenon. At times, extreme weather events have become increasingly complex, if not complicated. Local, as well as international weather experts, have been issuing public advisories on what they call as “Super El Niño” phenomenon, or the long dry period, especially in tropical countries like ours.

So such worrisome weather prediction should not be subjected to funny or demeaning memes in social media after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) suggested to all of us Filipinos to start seriously considering several conservation measures. One of which that PBBM mentioned that has become the butt of the jokes in social media posts poked fun about preparing “balde,” or pails. It is a practical conservation measure to collect and save rainwater and clean water for the projected long drought ahead of us in this part of the world.

Every activity, no matter how trivial it may seem, matters a lot to help stave off looming water crisis.

It brings to mind a very popular adage that originated from the late scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin, who is recognized as one of the “founding fathers” of America. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Franklin wrote. He was not referring to medicine. He offered the advice regarding fire safety and town preparedness in Philadelphia, where he warned their citizens to safely handle hot coals and clean their chimneys to prevent house fires.

This is exactly what a Filipino-founded startup company called CrisisOps Inc. presented as a smart solution using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help lessen, if not totally eliminate, the unnecessary loss of lives and properties in times of natural calamities and man-made disasters. Filipino-led innovators from CrisisOps Inc. formally introduced their “physical AI” at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last Wednesday.

Jason Keith Boñaga, co-founder, president and chief resilience officer, CrisisOps, Inc., and Dr. Chad Briggs, Academic Program Director, executive master in Disaster Risk and Crisis Management at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), demonstrated to us how this AI technology platform works well, combined with human intelligence from the starting point to the end of the line of their smart solution process.

Boñaga proudly announced that CrisisOps is building and promoting a globally competitive innovation from the US using AI and newest emerging technologies to help transform disaster preparedness, climate adaptation and national resilience. The CrisisOps calls their “physical AI” as the Mobile Emergency Operations Center (EOC). A hardware prototype of which was set up at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay which actually is just a portable TV-like monitor equipment.

From a laptop or desktop computer, the “physical AI” can get all the data needed from the “cloud,” or connected with Wi-Fi signal or Starlink satellite. It can be easily set up to process in real-time all the information near the site, or even at ground zero of the disaster being monitored. Briggs explained the prototype hardware is the “physical AI” that connects the people who operate it and can rely their operational decision and specific actions to undertake based from the inputs churned out from weather instruments, water measurements, camera, or equipment telemetry.

Thus, the technology creates a Crisis Command Center on the ground to provide the operational coordination platform. “Technology can bring these factors together so decisions are based on a shared assessment,” Briggs cited.

According to Boñaga, CrisisOps was incorporated in Delaware, USA but operations in the Philippines actually started in December last year. Currently, he cited, their startup company is building its US presence as part of the Harvard Innovation Labs Climate Circle and the NVIDIA Inception Program and supporting its development of AI and edge-computing capabilities for climate resilience.

Boñaga disclosed the CrisisOps created an application, or app for short, as systems approach to preparedness for weather events such as the “Super El Niño” now being felt across the Philippines and projected to linger on until the first half of 2027.

They dubbed it as Project PRIORITY which stood for Predictive Resource Intelligence and Optimization for Resilient Interventions.

Boñaga cited the CrisisOps-created app started its pilot-testing in two national government agencies and in at least 40 local government units (LGUs), initially selected from among the disaster-prone parts of the Philippines.

Among these LGUs he mentioned included Mabuhay in Zamboanga, Masbate, Sibugay and in Quezon City. Boñaga looks forward to have the CrisisOps system be tested by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD). The OCD serves as the executive arm and secretariat of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) with the country’s President as its presiding head if convened in times of disaster.

As created, the CrisisOps smart solution seeks to provide the correct data and information with speed and accuracy needed by national government agencies, governors and mayors, and other LGU executives to get ahead of potential problem areas in times of disaster and calamity. They also offer “customized” AI-platform to the particular needs such as to avoid supply chain disruptions for corporate and other private companies should there be unexpected calamity and disaster events.

“CrisisOps is advancing its technology through engagement with public institutions and frontline operations,” Boñaga pointed out. “This is a whole-of society, not just raising awareness because people look at risks from different angles,” Chad chimed in.

Incidentally, the two gentlemen are US military veterans who mostly engaged with disaster-response and humanitarian activities. Boñaga was with the US Marine Corps while Briggs’ expertise includes disaster intelligence, early warning and climate policy that he did as former advisor at NATO (or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and as Minerva Chair and professor at the US Air War College and senior advisor at the US Department of Energy.

While the AI-aided platform can be used to better manage the hazards, switching from practical to smart solutions to protect lives and properties still remains with the people who do the assessment and decision at the end of the day.

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