ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) has permeated our professional and private lives, knowingly or unknowingly, and often it is not our personal choice. AI is deeply embedded in daily life, often working quietly in the background to improve convenience or security, without explicit user awareness. Over 85 percent of our interactions with technology may involve AI, according to some reports. This can be Facial Recognition (Face ID), Photo Optimization and Organization on your Smartphone, Social Media, Navigation and Travel, Banking, Online Shopping. The international and security context is becoming more complex daily. New digital technologies, including AI, are increasingly a driver of geopolitical competition and barometer of global influence, and are used by foreign actors to threaten the security and integrity of the EU and its Member States as well as the Philippines, to manipulate the information environment and to interfere in democratic processes. The European Union is collaborating more closely with partners on shared digital challenges while remaining committed to individual rights and freedoms that are essential for effective global digital governance. In this context, the EU and the Philippines have a shared vision for AI: one that puts humans at the centre of this technology, promotes AI advancements serving the public interest, upholds fundamental rights, and fosters inclusive innovation.
The European Union developed new laws and strategies to ensure AI development puts our citizens at the core of this technology. This means the focus of EU law ensures that AI is trustworthy, reliable and accessible and works for people, respecting fundamental rights, democracy and security. It should also reflect EU values to be trusted by business and consumers. This is how the EU AI Act was born- the first-ever legal framework on AI. This law is striking a balance between assessing the AI risks and putting safeguards to protect our citizens from risks. It also needs tools to develop an AI which you and I could trust.
As AI enters a new era of explosive growth, two major forces shape its trajectory: the massive investments in infrastructure and innovation needed to build long-term technological leadership, and the governance frameworks designed to ensure safety, trust, and accountability. The fast-paced development of AI therefore goes in parallel with new Strategies. In 2025, the EU launched the AI Continent Action Plan, a clear roadmap to take AI to the next level by working with the EU private sector to innovate and collaborate in five key domains: infrastructure, data, skills, uptake and simplification of regulations. SMEs are at the front of the European economy and need to be included in the AI revolution. The European Union developed AI ecosystems which are public and private partnerships, and which are launched around 19 AI Factories across 16 European countries giving SMEs access to computing power, data and talent. Access to high-quality data is an essential factor in building high-performance, robust AI systems. Initiatives such as the EU Cybersecurity Strategy and the Data Union Strategy provide the right infrastructure for building such systems.
The Philippines is advancing on AI and launched the National AI Strategy and the National AI Research Centre, focusing on skills, innovation and policies facilitating growth through access to cutting-edge AI technology for the public and private sector. The Department of Science and Technology’s “Geospatial and AI-enabled Technologies for Smart Systems” (GATES) programme is promoting geospatial data and will also be a game changer in terms of data and science driven governance in the Philippines.
The Philippines has identified AI as one of the priority areas of its Chairship of Asean in 2026 and is in this context promoting the ethical and sustainable use of AI, to contribute to economic growth, services, healthcare and to strengthen the Asean capacity to anticipate and to respond to new and evolving security challenges. Concrete examples include AI support to early warning systems, maritime domain awareness, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. The EU and the Philippines do not only share a human-centric approach to AI and good governance, but also the understanding that AI is a tool to develop our economies, infrastructure, skills and academia collaboration, thereby empowering societies and creating opportunities for all. This is why the EU and the Philippines jointly work to shaping a partnership defined by human centric AI. The EU funded the AI Readiness Report drafted by our colleagues from UNESCO: the Philippines is ready to embrace and uphold values of trust and integrity. Space is also a key area of the EU-Philippines partnership under Global Gateway, the EU’s strategy to boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors in partner countries. In 2024, as part of the EU Global Gateway cooperation, the EU and Philippines established the first Copernicus data centre and Copernicus services using EU satellite data to monitor crops, assess damages of disasters -such as last year’s earthquake and floods in Cebu- and protect marine biodiversity. In Copernicus space-based solutions, AI algorithms have the possibility to correct themselves and feed new data to adjust trends and forecasts, contributing to making better policy decisions. The EU shared expertise on AI space solutions reinforcing Filipino talent of the Philippines Space Agency and DOST staff. The EU-Philippines Digital Economy Package will continue to support the Philippine Government efforts to use AI to data driven policy decisions with DOST’s GATES programme, sharing the EU experience on AI, and connecting our private sectors to make the AI transition sustainable, and to create more links between our people and economies.
In addition, the operationalisation of trustworthy AI will be a key next step in EU-Philippines cooperation. The implementation of the EU AI Act, through risk classification, and market surveillance, among others, offers a concrete model for ensuring legal certainty and user protection. At the same time, closer alignment on international standards will be essential to promote interoperability. Strengthened cooperation on cybersecurity, including resilience against AI-enabled cyber threats and disinformation, should also be prioritised. Under the Global Gateway Strategy and the EU–Philippines Digital Economy Package, further investments in, among others, secure digital infrastructure, and trusted data spaces will be critical to support inclusive AI ecosystems, alongside continued efforts in skills development and institutional capacity-building.
The EU and the Philippines stand at the forefront of a human-centric AI revolution, one that balances innovation with ethics. Both partners are ensuring that technology serves society, not the other way around. From Copernicus data centres enhancing disaster resilience to AI Factories empowering SMEs, our collaboration proves that trust, transparency, and shared values lead to a digital future that benefits all. Together, we are not just adopting AI, we are defining its global standards.