With the 2024 Nobel Prize hailing the scientific breakthroughs that made artificial intelligence (AI) technology possible, the University of the Philippines has gathered experts for a conference underscoring AI’s profound impact on society, modern science, and the research community. 

“AI Horizons PH ’24: Conference on AI-Powered Research and Innovation” scheduled on Oct. 24 and 25 at the UP-BGC campus in Taguig City will also highlight AI-driven solutions to address the Philippines’ unique challenges in food security, sustainable agriculture, quality education, good governance, materials and energy, and health and wellness. 

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Nobel Committee recently honored physicist John Hopfield and computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton for their “foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.”

It underlined how Hopfield’s work in associative memory and Hinton’s contributions to deep learning had laid the groundwork for today’s AI revolution, from language translation to image recognition and beyond.

“The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics shows that investing in AI is not just an option but an imperative for our nation’s future,” UP president Angelo A. Jimenez said. “As one of the world’s most prestigious science awards recognized AI’s global significance, UP has been taking concrete steps to harness its power for national progress.”

Gisela P. Concepcion, UP’s special adviser to the president on research and innovation, drew parallels between the Nobel-winning work and UP’s initiative: “The breakthroughs recognized by the Nobel Prizes—from fundamental machine learning to protein structure prediction—demonstrate AI’s potential to accelerate discovery and innovation across all fields.  

“Just as Hopfield and Hinton laid the foundations for modern AI, UP aims to lay the groundwork for AI-driven national development,” Concepcion said, adding: “This conference is our step towards positioning the Philippines at the forefront of AI innovation in Southeast Asia.”

The conference chair, Prospero Naval Jr. of the UP Diliman Department of Computer Science, said the organizers “aim to ignite AI transformation in our country, championing a vision where AI is integrated into everything and made accessible to everyone.”

Peter Sy, UP assistant vice president for digital transformation, said “AI’s transformative potential hinges on our commitment to digital infrastructure and data-driven strategies across all sectors.”

AI’s pivotal role in many sectors will be discussed during the two-day conference. Confirmed keynote speakers per track include Education Secretary Sonny Angara, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, Agriculture Undersecretary Allan Q. Umali, Health Undersecretary Glenn Matthew Baggao, and Executive Director Enrico Paringit of the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy. 

The speakers for AI in Food, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries are: UP scientist and professor Maria Victoria Ortega Espaldon (“Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines”), Homer Pantua of the Institute of Biological Sciences and BioAssets (“AI-Guided Approach to Livestock Vaccine Design and Development”), UP Marine Science Institute Director Laura David (“Fish-I for Fisheries Biodiversity, Aquaculture, and Fisheries”),  De La Salle University professor and NAST academician Elmer Dadios (“Automated Agriculture Machinery”), and Lowell Sy of Precision Path Technologies Inc. (“Path Precisions Technology Drones”). 

For AI in Education and Governance: Naval (“Data Science and AI: UP Degree Programs and Short Courses”), Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences professor Maria Mercedes Rodrigo (“AI in Education”), UP Diliman College of Science Dean Giovanni Tapang (“Versatile Instrumentation System for Science and Research”), UP Diliman professorial lecturer Romeo Gabriel Solis (“Tanza Child Development Centre”), and UP Diliman National Institute of Physics professor May Lim (“AI in Traffic and Road Systems”). 

For AI in Materials and Energy: Philippine Space Agency Director-General Joel Joseph Marciano Jr. (“Role of Artificial Intelligence in Space Technology”), Governor’s Chair professor at University of Tennessee-Tickle College of Engineering Rigoberto Advincula (“Advanced Manufacturing and Chemical Industries”), Advanced Science and Technology Institute Director Franz de Leon (“AI Initiatives of ASTI”), UP Diliman Engineering Research Development for Technology project leader Roel Ocampo (“High Performance Computing for AI”), and Lea Bronuela-Ambrocio, Prototype Automated Visual Survey Equipment project leader, UP Diliman National Institute of Civil Engineering (“AI in Transportation”). 

For AI in Health and Wellness (Mental, Physical, Socio-Cultural): NAST academician and UP professor emeritus Antonio Miguel Dans (“AI assisted UHC/PMC electronic records”), UP Philippine Genome Center Executive Director Felicitas S. Lacbawan (“AI in Molecular Diagnostics and Genetics”), radiology professor Johanna Patricia Cañal at UP Manila and Philippine General Hospital (“AI in Radiology”), associate orthopedics professor Nathaniel Orillaza Jr. at UP Manila and PGH (“AI in Orthopedics”), and Iris Thiele Isip Tan of the Medical Informatics Unit, UP College of Medicine (“Mental Wellness and AI”).  

UP vice president for academic affairs Leo Cubillan, MD, and UP Diliman chancellor Carlo Vistan will deliver the closing remarks for Days 1 and 2 of the conference, respectively. 

More information and registration details at  https://ai-horizons.up.edu.ph/

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