In a scathing critique, a columnist for SunStar Carvajal has drawn a stark parallel between the handling of Carbon public market and the broader dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) under elite control. The author argues that city officials, instead of engaging with vendors, unilaterally entered into a joint venture agreement that effectively privatized the public market—an act likened to burning down a house to kill termites.
Privatization Without Consultation
The columnist highlights that the cleanup of Carbon was handled without discussion with the vendors. The joint venture agreement, according to the author, transfers public assets to private hands without addressing the root problems of dirt and chaos. This approach, the columnist contends, reflects a deeper cultural issue where an elite few impose their will on the majority.
Cultural Critique and the Role of AI
The article expands to criticize Filipino culture for producing a self-serving political and economic elite, while the population submits to authority. The columnist warns that this dynamic is exacerbated by AI, which is increasingly doing the thinking for humans. However, the threat is not AI itself but the anonymous few who control data centers and program AI to serve their interests. Pope Leo XIV, in his encyclical “Magnificent Humanity,” warns of new forms of exclusion through AI, the columnist notes.
Impact on Youth and Society
The author cites a disturbing incident where two minors in Tacloban killed fellow students, questioning how technology distorted their values. A recent report indicates that 10 million students ask AI for advice on life problems, bypassing parents, teachers, and priests. The columnist argues that lowering the age of criminal liability or revising school curricula misses the point. Instead, the author suggests holding parents liable for minors’ misconduct and allowing teachers to act as parents in loco parentis without fear of castigation.
A Call to Action
The columnist concludes that parents, teachers, and religious leaders must step up to ensure Filipinos make decisions based on eternal truths like human dignity and the common good. Legislators, whose minds are bent on ambition, cannot be relied upon. The challenge is to use AI to promote humanizing values and focus on the common good, rather than allowing it to further bend the Filipino mind.
