Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Ace Barbers on Wednesday, June 18, has again stressed the need to pass a measure seeking the creation of an artificial intelligence (AI) watchdog after Senator Ronald Bato dela Rosa shared an AI-generated video and backed its message​.

Barbers, who had actively participated in the House tri-committee (tri-comm) probe into misinformation in the country, said policymakers and lawmakers should seriously consider the revival and passage of bills on the creation of a government “superbody” that would promote and regulate use and development of the rapidly ascending AI technology.

As early as March 2023, Barbers had already filed a bill for the creation of what he called the Artificial Intelligence Development Authority (AIDA) to oversee the development and deployment of AI technologies.

It would also ensure compliance with AI ethics principles and guidelines, and protect the rights and welfare of individuals and communities affected by AI technologies.

​While the rapid phase of technological advancement in AI provides huge potential to the development of the people and the economy, it also poses risks and challenges that must be addressed to ensure that its benefits are maximized, and its negative impacts are minimized, if not avoided,​ he said.

“As I have said earlier, we should have a ​'watchdog​' to guard against unscrupulous individuals, like foreign propagandists, lobbyists, bandits or terrorist groups, that would take advantage of or use it for their selfish or criminal ends,” he ​added.

​Barbers said regulators across the world—from the United States, Great Britain, European Union, some ASEAN countries like Singapore, among others—​have​ already drafted and adopted regulations to govern the use of the booming AI technology.

Barbers ​renewed his call for the revival of ​his proposed measure ​creating AIDA after Dela Rosa was slammed by netizens ​for posting and shar​ing ​on his social media account an AI-generated short video “interview” of two male students, believed to be from Thailand, explaining in Tagalog why they did not support the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Dela Rosa reposted the video, with a caption marked with hashtag #AI: “Mabuti pa ang mga bata, nakakaintindi sa mga pangyayari. Makinig kayo mga yellow at mga komunista.”

​S​ocial media users ​f​lagged Dela Rosa, and said that as a ​senator, he should be more careful in verifying the authenticity of videos before sharing them.

​But the senator doubled down on his move, and said that regardless of whether the video was AI-generated or not, it was the message it conveyed that mattered to him.