Philippines Trails Regional Peers in Global Responsible AI Index
Key Takeaways
- •The Philippines scored 32.98 out of 100 in the second edition of the GIRAI, ranking 68th out of 135 countries assessed by the Global Center on AI Governance.
- •The country's score was the fifth-lowest among East and Southeast Asian peers and fell below the regional median of 34.98.
- •The GIRAI evaluates nations across five dimensions: inclusion and diversity, ethics and sustainability, labor and skills, trust and safety, and AI use in public service.
- •Although the Philippines released a national AI roadmap through the Department of Trade and Industry in 2021, implementation and governance remain less developed than several neighboring countries.
- •The ranking carries economic significance for the Philippines' business process outsourcing sector, as multinational clients increasingly factor AI governance maturity into their decisions alongside cost considerations.
The Philippines ranked 68th out of 135 countries with a score of 32.98 out of 100 in the second edition of the Global Index on Responsible AI (GIRAI), released by the Global Center on AI Governance. The country's score was the fifth-lowest among its East and Southeast Asian peers, matching the Asia and Oceania regional average but falling below the regional median of 34.98.
The GIRAI is an international benchmarking tool designed to assess how countries are implementing responsible artificial intelligence practices. The index evaluates nations across five key dimensions: inclusion and diversity, ethics and sustainability, labor and skills, trust and safety, and the use of AI in public service. These dimensions reflect globally recognized principles for AI governance, including fairness, transparency, accountability, and the protection of fundamental rights.
The Global Center on AI Governance is an organization focused on advancing equitable and responsible AI policy frameworks across the world. The GIRAI serves as one of its core initiatives, providing comparative data on national progress toward ethical AI adoption.
Among the countries assessed, the Philippines' position in the lower tier of the regional ranking highlights the gap between its current AI governance framework and those of neighboring countries. The index score suggests room for improvement across all five evaluated dimensions, particularly in areas such as trust and safety and the integration of AI in public service delivery. The Philippines published a national AI roadmap through the Department of Trade and Industry in 2021, but the GIRAI results indicate that implementation and governance mechanisms remain at an early stage relative to several regional peers. Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam have also published national AI strategies, creating a regional landscape where comparative governance benchmarks carry growing relevance for investment, trade, and talent mobility.
The ranking also carries economic weight given the Philippines' substantial business process outsourcing sector, a major contributor to employment and GDP that is being reshaped by AI adoption. How national policy addresses workforce transitions, data protection, and algorithmic accountability may factor into the sector's competitiveness as multinational clients increasingly weigh governance maturity alongside cost.
Full country-level data and methodology are available on the GIRAI website.
Source: BusinessWorld Online
