Preparing the Philippines for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: A Scoping Study

Abstract

Technological breakthroughs and the interplay of a number of fields, including advanced robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, neurotech, data analytics, blockchain, cloud technology, biotechnology, Internet of Things (IOT), and 3D printing, have ushered in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIRe). These various FIRe technologies are already being adopted by Philippine industries, although in varying degrees of diffusion. The extent to which all the potential benefits will be realized from these technologies depends on the country’s ability to overcome its capacity to aptly adapt to the global disruptions that are expected to come along with the FIRe. The country needs to focus on establishing a solid basic foundation for sustained learning and on accumulating various types of capital, while progressively and systematically closing the existing technological and knowledge gaps. Both the public and private sectors need to pay attention to the miniscule investment it has been putting in R&D; concomitantly, the Government must have an informed view on how to improve the efficiency of its deployment. Other interrelated measures needed to be able to catch up technologically and benefit from FIRe include: (i) openness to international trade and investment, which can be useful vehicles for faster transfer of innovative ideas and technology; (ii) reduced anti-competition practices and more competition in key industries like ICT; (iii) better educated and more trainable workers and more flexible and less costly labor market regulatory environment; (iv) development of the education and training systems, including both Government and private sectors, that can efficiently and equitably produce malleable human capital; (v) accumulation of other types of complementary capital like institutional, organizational and physical capital; (vi) progressive establishment of a universal social protection system to keep the people secure, especially the poor and vulnerable, in the face expected unprecedented business and employment disruptions; and (vii) more investment in data collection, monitoring, testing and evaluation. The opportunities and challenges are multifaceted and complex. To harness the FIRe, Government as a whole should systematically review and adapt its policies, institutions and development efforts in light of upcoming revolutionary changes.