The World Economic Forum has popularized a phrase that captures our current moment: the “Intelligent Age.” This era is transforming everything, everywhere, all at once—driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and blockchain, and shaped by seismic geo-economic shifts rearranging supply chains, investment flows, and national priorities.

But here is the part we should say plainly: the Intelligent Age will not be built in the cloud. It will be built on concrete and cables—on power grids, fiber routes, permits, poles, ducts, and right-of-way approvals. The future will move at the speed of our systems, not our slogans.

That is why a moment far from Davos matters just as much. On Jan. 23, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) held a hearing to solicit feedback on eligibility rules for incoming data transmission participants. These regulations connect directly to the central promise of the Konektadong Pinoy bill: to stimulate connectivity buildout by inviting competition, especially in areas where it has historically been hardest to build. This is the unglamorous side of national progress: a memorandum circular can either become a bridge to a faster rollout or a bottleneck disguised as “process.”

We often treat laws as finish lines. They are not. The real work begins in the implementing details—what is required, how long approvals take, which standards are demanded, and whether serious builders can actually build.

Whenever people talk about AI, the conversation quickly shifts to a funeral for jobs. Some of this fear is rational. Automation will disrupt roles, particularly repetitive tasks and predictable processes. To pretend otherwise would be dishonest.

But fear often obscures the second half of the equation: the jobs created around a technological shift.

When the tractor arrived, many feared farmers would become obsolete. What happened instead was more complex and instructive. Mechanization changed agriculture, yes—but it also built an entire ecosystem: machine shops, mechanics, welders, parts suppliers, and a quiet army of people who keep equipment running when it breaks mid-planting season. In the Philippines today, the irony is that while we face a shortage of farmers, we have no shortage of people who can repair a broken tractor.

This is a useful lens for the Intelligent Age. It will demand more than just software skills; it requires work that is physical and foundational. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has noted that in an AI-transformed world, plumbers and electricians may become some of the most valuable workers, because someone still has to build and maintain the infrastructure behind the boom.

“AI-ready” cannot merely mean learning how to write prompts. It means building the backbone: reliable power, resilient networks, and the capacity to host and move data securely. Even the World Economic Forum has been blunt: powering this era is a massive undertaking with serious implications for global electricity demand.

This is where policy becomes practical. While competition is the headline, friction is the real battle.

If we want the Konektadong Pinoy framework to succeed, the rules must lower barriers to entry and remove the everyday obstacles that stall progress: unclear standards, inconsistent timelines, and permit bottlenecks that punish the very regions that need investment most. If we open the door for new players but leave the hallway cluttered with paperwork, we will create frustrated entrants rather than new infrastructure.

We must also recognize the wider opportunity. The Philippines should not be a mere consumer market for the Intelligent Age; we can be an infrastructure node. Strategically located in Asia, we are already linked by submarine cables to regional and global networks. As AI demand grows, data center capacity must go somewhere. Workloads need redundancy; latency matters. When serious investors look for a home, they seek three things: reliable power planning, dependable connectivity, and a regulatory environment that is firm, fair, and fast.

We don’t have to be perfect. We just have to be serious.

Done properly, the NTC’s rules can do more than expand access. They can reduce the friction of doing business and simplify the construction of the systems that power this new age. They can help us prepare a workforce for what “AI-ready” truly means, while creating real work for the skilled trades already here: the electricians, technicians, and builders who will sustain the future.

There is an old saying: in a gold rush, the safest business is selling picks and shovels. But if we commit to lowering barriers and reducing friction, why can’t we benefit from both—the tools and the gold?

The Intelligent Age is coming either way. The question is whether we meet it with headlines or with infrastructure.