Ayala group teams up with UP to support AI program

From left: Roberto Batungbacal, UP Engineering Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (UPERDFI) Trustee, Dr. Maria Antonia Tanchuling. UP College of Engineering Dean, Angelito Bermudo, UPERDFI President, Alfonso Aliga, Jr., UPERDFI Executive Director, Cezar Consing, Ayala Corporation President and CEO, Karl Kendrick Chua, Ayala Corporation Managing Director and Group Head for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and Francisco Romero Milán, Ayala Corporation Managing Director for Corporate Resources and Chief Human Resource Officer, during the signing ceremony —CONTRIBUTED

Ayala Corp. is teaming up with the University of the Philippines (UP) to provide scholarships and research funding in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and data science.

In a statement on Friday, the listed conglomerate said its collaboration with UP Engineering Research and Development Foundation Inc. (UPERDFI) would support UP College of Engineering’s AI Program.

The partnership aimed at advancing AI development will run until next year.

“AI and data science are critical to generating insights and ideas for better decision-making that can help us deliver on our purpose to build businesses that enable people to thrive,” Ayala managing director and group head for data science and artificial intelligence Karl Kendrick Chua said.

“We appreciate the opportunity and are excited to work with UP in advancing knowledge in these fields that benefit both industry and the country,” he added.

Impactful projects

Maria Antonia Tanchuling, dean of the UP College of Engineering, said they would “endeavor in delivering impactful projects to benefit our country and our people.”

The use of AI has been on the rise since chatbot ChatGPT became popular.

It has several use cases that can enhance a company’s operations, including processing of real-time data that can aid in making quick and informed business decisions.

According to a survey by global tech company Cisco, 65 percent of local enterprises have set aside 10 percent to 30 percent of their existing information technology (IT) budget for AI adoption.

They usually spend on cybersecurity, IT infrastructure and data analytics and management.

In addition, 98 percent of the surveyed local companies expressed “increased urgency” to use AI in their operations.

However, Cisco also noted that only about one-fifth of Philippine enterprises have the GPUs (graphics processing units) that can handle AI workload.

GPUs are used to process large data sets, which are necessary when harnessing AI potential.