President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s bold call to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) “as much as we can, as soon as we can” captures the urgency of our time. The world is changing faster than legislation, faster than ethics, and faster than human comprehension. To hesitate may mean being left behind. But to rush, without a moral compass, could mean losing something far more precious—our humanity, our rights, our democracy.

AI offers the Philippines and the rest of the world extraordinary promise. Imagine government transactions processed in minutes, not months. Picture public health systems that predict outbreaks before they spread, and education tailored to every student’s needs. These are not fantasies; they are possibilities within reach. But every powerful tool is a double-edged sword. Without rules and human oversight, AI could just as easily be turned into an instrument of surveillance, discrimination, and manipulation.

This is why the President’s vision must be guided not just by innovation, but by integrity. The adoption of AI in government must be built upon three unshakable pillars: privacy, fairness, and constitutional fidelity.

Keep in mind that privacy is a right enshrined in our laws and the very fabric of democracy. The state’s use of AI must never cross the line into mass data collection or unauthorized profiling. Filipinos must never feel that their personal information is a commodity or that their digital footprints are being tracked by unseen algorithms. The Data Privacy Act must be strengthened and strictly enforced in every AI application. A citizen’s consent must remain sacred.

Fair play demands that AI systems operate transparently and without bias. Algorithms must not discriminate by region, income, gender, or belief. Public services powered by AI must be accessible to all, not just those who understand or can afford technology. The government must require regular audits of AI tools to ensure they make decisions fairly, explainably, and accountably. Machine judgment can never replace moral judgment.

Finally, constitutional adherence must anchor every step. No algorithm should ever be above the law or beyond scrutiny. Our Constitution guarantees due process, human dignity, and equal protection—principles that must remain intact in the digital era. If AI is to serve the Filipino people, it must do so within the ambit of our democratic order.

To make this vision real, the government must craft an airtight regulatory framework—one that sets clear standards, enforces accountability, and ensures human oversight at every turn. An independent AI commission, composed of experts from technology, law, ethics, and civil society, could oversee implementation and investigate misuse. Every agency deploying AI must have trained personnel capable of monitoring and correcting algorithmic errors. No system should operate blindly or without a human hand ready to intervene.

This is not the government’s task alone. The private sector, which drives much of AI innovation, must cooperate fully not just for compliance, but out of conscience. Industry must adopt transparent practices, share safety data, and align with national standards. And every Filipino citizen, too, has a role: to stay informed, to question, to demand accountability.

The use of AI is a crucial decision as the Philippines stands at crossroads—one path leads to progress with purpose, the other to power without any sense of responsibility. Let’s choose wisely.

Let’s build an AI-powered future that is not only intelligent, but just. Because in the end, the measure of our progress will not be how smart our machines become, but how steadfastly human we remain.