PHL CITED FOR FRONTIER TECH GAINS, BUT DIGITAL GAPS NOTED

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) vowed to strengthen its commitment and initiatives in developing the industry, as the country was named “second over performer” in an industry report released recently by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

This, even as a separate international report flagged the inequalities that remain in countries like the Philippines as a result of the digital divide.

The Unctad report showed the Philippines was among the few developing countries that exhibited stronger capabilities to use, adopt, and adapt frontier technologies than its per capita income.

In particular, the Philippines was one of the top developing countries to have better frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IOT), big data, blockchain, 3D printing, robotics, drones, gene editing, 5G, nanotechnology and solar photovoltaics (PV ).

According to the report,“the over performance of a nation is measured by the difference between the actual index ranking and the estimated index ranking based on per capita income.”

Other countries in the top five include India, Ukraine, Vietnam and China.

“This achievement is made possible by the concerted efforts of the government, including your DICT. We are deeply elated by this achievement because it means that we are now beginning to reap the fruits of our efforts,” ICT Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II said.

Inequality flagged

THE report also warned countries of the rise of inequality brought by a new wave of technological change, urging developing countries to work towards universal Internet access and ensure all their citizens have opportunities to learn the skills required for frontier technologies.

“We at the DICT recognize the reality of the problem presented in the report. Rest assured that we are committed in further strengthening our Digital Connectivity as well as our Digital Education, Skills and Jobs initiatives in the new normal to bridge the digital gap brought into sharper focus by the coronavirus disease 2019 or Covid-19 pandemic,” Honasan said.