Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has filed a bill to provide artificial intelligence (AI) training for government personnel.
“Skills gap is one of the challenges of the workforce, especially with the rise of generative AI. Government agencies must therefore start training and enhancing the capabilities of civil servants when it comes to AI,” said Estrada.
His Senate Bill No. 2930, or the “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Training for Government Workforce Act,” recognizes that many companies have integrated AI, while governments worldwide work to understand its impact on the public workforce.
“The debate and conversation around AI have been everywhere – whether it really helps people in their everyday lives or it is simply a threat to the global workforce. AI really has a lot of potential – from automating tasks to making it easier for complex questions to be answered in just a matter of seconds,” according to him.
Estrada emphasized the importance of balancing AI’s benefits with managing its risks and maximizing its opportunities for public service.
“Investing in AI training will not only future-proof the workforce but also improve services for the public,” he said.
The bill mandates that the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) lead an AI training program for government employees. The training will cover AI concepts, benefits, risks like discrimination and privacy concerns, future AI trends, and risk mitigation strategies.
The senator also proposed that the training be conducted every two years, funded through the annual budget. It will cover employees involved in areas such as program management, planning, research, development, testing, procurement, logistics, and others identified by agency heads.IMT
