Cebu businesses brace for AI

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu business sector is bracing for the inevitable entry of AI (Artificial Intelligence) to their respective operations.

The Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) announced to conduct an intensive discussion with members and technology experts on how businesses will face the technology disruptions especially with the emergence of AI to handle some of the basic jobs in companies, said MCCI president Stanley Go.

“The chamber will mount a talk about AI to equip its members and stakeholders with relevant information on AI and how it is changing the way we do business,” Go said.

International experts will be tapped citing graduates from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard.

According to Go, it is high time for businesses to face the real disruptor such as AI.

“I asked the experts to address some business owners and schools to share a bit of AI and about how AI is affecting different industries,” he added.

Based on the 2017 Accenture technology forecast, AI is coming of age, tackling problems both big and small by making interactions--simple and smart.

AI too, is becoming the new user interface (UI), underpinning the way people transact and interact with systems.  Go admitted that the advancement in technology is already creating a lot of disruptions, which can make or break a business.

He added that the forum will also aim at teaching companies to train workers how to work with AI, instead of being affected by it.

“We need to at least prepare and have the right attitude about these changes,” Go emphasized adding that businesses should fight to float or to survive we need to fight to win. “We need to play to win.”

In an earlier interview with technology trailblazer Accenture Philippines country managing director Lito T. Tayag, he noted that Cebu in particular, wherein businesses seemed to have shown lower appreciation of technology, should shape up in this area and business owners should consider full technology adaption as a urgent priority.

“We need to accelerate the acceptance of the reality. This is something very important for them to do,” urged Tayag, noting that if a company (regardless of size) for instance fails to combine intelligent technology to augment the human capabilities, it will have to suffer the brunt of disruption.

“The future is in human and machine collaboration,” Tayag said. (FREEMAN)