AWS AI Day Philippines 2025: A Morning of Insightful AI Discussions

Podcast Summary: (not a readout)

February 19, 2024 - Taguig City - The AWS AI Day Philippines kicked off this morning at Shangri-La at the Fort in Bonifacio Global City, drawing an estimated 700 to 1,000 attendees. With Bonifacio Hall seating 300 and Narra Room accommodating 200, the high turnout led to many standing around the event space and exploring the four sponsor booths. The strong attendance reflected the growing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and its role in business and technological innovation.

Opening Remarks and Keynote

The event commenced with an opening keynote from Precious Lim, Country Manager for AWS Philippines, who welcomed attendees and set the stage for a day of deep dives into AI’s impact on industries. Lim highlighted AWS’s commitment to AI-driven transformation and innovation, particularly in the Philippine market.

Following the welcome remarks, Luke Anderson, Data & AI Director, APJ, AWS, presented Beyond the Horizon: How AI and Data Will Define Our Future. Anderson provided a compelling overview of how AI is reshaping industries, empowering businesses to optimize their operations, and driving efficiency at an unprecedented scale using a 5 AI Laws

1. The foundation for AI is in the cloud
2. Start with pervasive and efficient experimentation
3. Mix and match models to your mission
4. Consistency, coherency, and control are delivered through data
5. Generative AI turbocharges transformation

AI in Action: Industry Case Studies

Alfred Lo, Group Chief Technology Officer of Maya Group, took the stage next, sharing how Maya, one of the Philippines' leading fintech companies, is integrating AI into its banking and financial services. In his talk Harnessing AI for Financial Innovation: The Maya Journey, Lo detailed Maya’s AI-driven initiatives in customer engagement, risk management, and operational efficiency, demonstrating how the company is leveraging AI to enhance financial services.

• Maya Chat 1.0 was mostly menu based which made it low ticket handling rate (more live agent request), low speed of answer and low answer rate in comparison to the lastest with AI Chatbot that handled 95%, instant answers (27 secs), and 97% answer rate
• Going beyond Q&A, it becomes an agent Customer Support that could become a Customer Relationship Account to all
• Improved Fraud Detection using Vector Embedding instead of Traditional Methods
• No longer just segmentation and beyond a Recommender System, Its a Multi-Object Optimization
• Culture is the core of strategy and not the technology by itself

Deepika Giri, Regional Head - AI, Analytics & Data at IDC, then provided an industry-wide perspective with IDC Perspective: New Business Frontiers Created by AI. Giri explored AI’s role in reshaping business strategies, offering insights into emerging trends, disruptions, and how organizations can strategically adapt to the AI-driven landscape. There is also a strong traction in the Philippines with a 10-20% YOY CAGR

• Horizon 1: Productivity Use cases (2024)
• Horizon 2: Business Use Cases (2025)
• Horizon 3: Industry Use Cases (2026 and beyond)

Additional Key Trends in AI Platfroms

• LLM Integration with Enterprise Systems
• Mix and Match of AI Tools & Vendors
• Emergence of AI Systems Architecture w/ Advance Frameworks and Agentics
• Ubiquitous and Unified AU
• GenAI Feature-stores
• Spread of AI Certifications

AI for Good: Drones, Startups, and Democratizing AI

The morning continued with Ir Dr. Lim Eu Shawn, Chief Business & Solutions Officer at Aerodyne, who showcased how AI is advancing drone intelligence in his session Advancing Humanity Through AI-driven Drone Intelligence. Lim detailed how Aerodyne is tackling global challenges in food security, infrastructure resilience, and sustainable energy through AI-powered drone analytics, demonstrating the potential of AI for social good and industry transformation in 22 Provinces of Papua New Guinea, and 15,000 resupplying missions in Himalayas and others.

Franco Varona, Managing Director at Foxmont Capital, followed with Charting the Horizon: Exploring Untapped Potential and Conquering New Obstacles, where he discussed the role of generative AI in startups. Varona’s session provided a deep dive into how AI is fueling innovation in Philippine entrepreneurship, while also addressing the need for responsible AI implementation. Philippines apparently produces 1.5 million babies per year and is the 2nd largest coffee drinking nation in Asia (after Japan) and has one of the most expensive electricity in the region. Examples were shared for Zennya, etaily and SOURCY usage of AI. "

AI does not need to come soley from new companies building AI solutions. It will come from existing startups with immediate use cases

Marcelo Silva, Principal PMT, Growth at AWS, closed the speaker sessions with Amazon Bedrock - Where Innovation Meets Foundation. Silva’s talk focused on the power of No-Code/Low-Code Machine Learning, emphasizing how these tools are making AI more accessible to non-technical professionals. His insights showcased how businesses can leverage AI without requiring deep technical expertise, democratizing AI adoption across industries.

Panel Discussion: Leadership Perspectives on AI Transformation

The morning concluded with a panel discussion titled Transforming Businesses from Inside Out - A Leadership Perspective, moderated by Unni Pillai, Head of Technology, AWS Philippines. The panel featured Dennis Omila (UnionBank), Dennis Augusto L. Caharian (GMA New Media Inc.), JC Medina (Palawan Pay), and Gian Paolo dela Rama (Sprout Solutions). The discussion revolved around AI’s role in business transformation, with each panelist sharing insights on AI adoption strategies, operational efficiencies, and the long-term implications of generative AI on their respective industries. Rise (not Rice), Rich, and Ready

Dennis Augusto L. Caharian (GMA New Media Inc.)

• AI is not suppose to replace. Its a supplement. Generate Value/ Revenue
• GMA was able to process content from 5 days to 1 hour because if not, within 24 hours, piracy would be able to do so
• Other Languages are harder to Quality Check if not in English
• 2 Things: Increase Productivity and/or Save on Cost - focus on Increase in Productivity

JC Medina (Palawan Pay)

• Had access to Great Technology even if its only been launched since 2022
• Moved to Fully Automated Know Your Customer (KYC) for cost savings and efficiency
• No Generative or Magic Money is made with tight security and controls
• Allow experimentation using Controlled Explosions

Gian Paolo dela Rama (Sprout Solutions)

• Acquired an AI Company to become its RND Laboratory
• Focus on on 2 aspects: Products that can sell or Products that improve Employee Productivity
• Example would be: Fully automated Cash Loans (including approval and deposit) w/ digital promissory notes
• 250+ Running Agents to assist 20+ employees process Payroll for Thousands

Dennis Omila (UnionBank)
5 tips:

1. Constant Burning Platform to Rally to a Common Goal. Digitize or Perish. AI to Fly
2. Psychological Safety. Most wont be replaced but complemented. Roles will removed but new ones emerges
3. Deep Instead of Wide. Too many AI Initiatives that end up not giving value or deployed.
4. Be careful with Messiah Mentality especially with Outside Consultants and Forces. Creates unnecessary problem and fear without historical context
5. Deep Purpose. Understand the problem first as it might not need AI. Have affordable AI to not divide the rich-poor divide. Learn and Uplift. Also mentioned how the Board of Directors using AWS AI for their meetings to lookup on the spot context of the company and previous meetings.

Sponsors Booth:

1CloudHub (thank you for the powerbank)
1CloudHub is a global cloud consulting partner offering cloud adoption, application and database modernization, and data analytics services to enterprises, SMBs, and startups, specializing in leveraging GenAI solutions to optimize operations and drive innovation.
Searce
Modern technology consulting firm that empowers clients to futurify their businesses, leveraging cloud, Data, Analytics & Ai
Kollab
Premier digital transformation advisor delivering industry-leading cloud-first solutions to over 1,100 companies across Southeast Asia.
Celebal Technologies
Premier software services company specializing in digital transformation and enterprise reinvention, offering advanced solutions in Generative AI, Machine Learning, Data Science, and cloud integration to clients worldwide

Afternoon Session

The overwhelming turnout highlighted the enthusiasm surrounding AI, but it also resulted in overcapacity issues. I opted to skip the afternoon sessions. 

Overall, AWS AI Day Philippines demonstrated the country’s growing appetite for AI-driven innovation, with industry leaders sharing real-world applications and strategic insights. The morning sessions provided valuable takeaways on how AI is revolutionizing industries, and despite the logistical challenges, the event was a strong indicator of AI’s increasing impact on the Philippine tech landscape.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raphael Quisumbing as a Co-Host of KaKaComputer, is a seasoned technology expert with 20+ years of experience in the industry. He has several hour long videos in Youtube as YoungCTO with over 37.1K Views, 2.6K Hours Watch Time and 1.3K Subscribers. Raphael is presently the Head of Product for Broadcast of Media:Track, the fastest growing International media monitoring outsourcing hub. He is recognized Cloud Enthusiast and leader (AWS Hero) with genuine enthusiasm for effectively mentoring a usergroup of over 15,000 members in the Philippines. He comes from a family of teachers and educators, serving in the academe as well as being an AWS Authorized Instructor.