Dominic Ligot

Technologist, Social Impact, Data Ethics, AI

Founder @ethicsPH, @cirrolytix, @aedes_ai
Board @PCIJdotOrg, PAIBA

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

High AI usage, low AI maturity. Classic PH.

[AI Conversations with Doc Ligot @aiconvodocligot]

We Don’t Have an AI Problem. We Have a Policy Problem

Most AI policy is written from the top down. AI itself is not.

People are already using it, students, workers, small businesses, and communities. The challenge is no longer adoption. It is whether policy reflects real life.

That is why we chose a bottom-up approach, built on four pillars: Education, Engineering, Enforcement, and Ethics.

Read our report: https://t.co/f7Tk53IuRO

Education matters because people are using AI faster than they are being taught how it works. Teachers need training. Families need inclusion. Literacy must be practical and shared early.

Engineering reminds us that AI depends on power, data, and connectivity. Without strong foundations, communities stay dependent on systems they do not control. Engineering policy is about building capacity, not just tools.

Enforcement showed us that fear-based rules fail. When laws are slow or overly punitive, AI use simply goes underground. Smart enforcement guides, adapts, and builds trust.

Ethics ties it all together. Ethics is protection. Without it, AI can spread misinformation, deepen inequality, and harm the most vulnerable. Ethics must live inside institutions, not just words.

The message is clear: policy must meet practice.

If AI is being built from the ground up, governance must follow. It is time to finally marry policy with practicality.

Download the report: https://t.co/PWSxJZKJd0

[Ivan 🇵🇭🇻🇦 @IvanAtHome]

With the Senate now under the control of adults again, many of the bills passed by the House can finally be finalized by the Senate, bypassing their own versions and by having senators to reconcile the bills during the Bicam Conferences.

The House of Representatives is on track to pass half of the 52 Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) priority measures ahead of this week's adjournment.

The ones that are especially exciting for me are the bills against disinformation (very much needed for the 2028 elections coming up), bills reforming the EPIRA law and promoting waste-to-Energy (which sure bring down power costs), and a bill promoting online child safety.

We at @cirrolytix Research Services, led by @docligot and @FCTayco, are very proud to have been part of technical working groups on the child safety bill and disinformation bill. Hopefully we played a small part in helping make the lives of Filipinos a little easier.

https://t.co/LxI2YsvKax

[Ivan 🇵🇭🇻🇦 @IvanAtHome]

CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS AVERTED | CAYETANO OUSTED AS SENATE PRESIDENT | GATCHALIAN NOW ACTING SENATE PRESIDENT

The Marcos/Liberal-led bloc has retaken control of the Philippine Senate after Senator Escudero defects to the then minority side, providing a sufficient working "constitutional majority" to convene a Plenary Session. They are now the new Senate Majority.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has been elected as Senate President Pro Tempore and acting Senate President , Sen Miguel Zubiri as Majority Leader through a motion of Sen. Sotto.

Sen. Cayetano has been been removed as Senate President and Sen. Gatchalian will serve as acting Senate President in accordance with Philippine Supreme Court jurisprudence, specifically GR No. L-2821 or Avelino vs. Cuenco of 1949 in which the senators not within the reach of Senate Jurisdiction cannot be counted when calculating a threshold needing a governing majority. Thus, Senators Estrada (in prison) and dela Rosa (on the run from the authorities) cannot technically be considered as part of the Senate for purposes of counting the majority. The new majority led by Gatchalian therefore has a working majority of 12 out of 22 senators and can conduct senate bussiness.

God bless the Republic! 🫡🇵🇭☀️

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

@IvanAtHome Finally a good use of RPC 154

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

@IvanAtHome @AbanteNews

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

Numbah wa.. what?

[Steven Kerwin @StevenKerwin]

Excuse the pun but this is going to "blow your mind:"
Countries with the Highest Number of Prostitutes (Per 10,000 People)
1. 🇵🇭 Philippines — 66.75
2. 🇲🇳 Mongolia — 55.12
3. 🇩🇪 Germany — 47.21
4. 🇺🇸 United States — 42.98
5. 🇹🇼 Taiwan — 41.87
6. 🇰🇭 Cambodia — 41.31
7. 🇲🇽 Mexico — 37.59
8. 🇨🇳 China — 35.39
9. 🇹🇭 Thailand — 34.82
10.🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates — 31.53
11. 🇰🇷 South Korea — 28.75
12. 🇨🇷 Costa Rica — 28.59
13. 🇨🇭 Switzerland — 22.74
14. 🇮🇳 India — 20.32
15. 🇮🇱 Israel — 19.08
16. 🇺🇦 Ukraine — 17.76
17. 🇹🇷 Turkey — 13.01
18. 🇧🇷 Brazil — 11.51
19. 🇧🇩 Bangladesh — 11.45
20. 🇰🇪 Kenya — 9.39
21. 🇬🇧 United Kingdom — 8.39
22. 🇳🇿 New Zealand — 6.85
23. 🇩🇰 Denmark — 5.41
24. 🇿🇦 South Africa — 4.93
25. 🇵🇱 Poland — 4.93
26. 🇳🇱 Netherlands — 3.97
27. 🇻🇳 Vietnam — 3.33
28. 🇫🇷 France — 3.02
29. 🇮🇪 Ireland — 1.89
(estimated) Source Havocscope – Number of Prostitutes by Country

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

@morutokunn Thank you. this certainly needs more discussion. Send me a DM.

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

We Are Raising Children in the AI Era

I joined Mimi Ong of Market Edge today for a conversation about AI and jobs.

One thing is clear: AI is not waiting for us.

Many people still think automation is a future problem. But companies around the world are already using AI to replace routine work. That matters for the Philippines, especially for the BPO industry.

We cannot stop global automation. What we can do is prepare.

* We need better infrastructure.
* We need better education.
* We need more support for scientists and researchers.
* And workers need to start upskilling now.

That is why I invited viewers to visit https://t.co/tFEgmWSbuO and join the webinar on May 20.

Near the end of the interview, I was asked what keeps me awake at night about AI. My answer was simple: Children.

Gen Alpha and Gen Beta may never know a world without AI. That means we have a responsibility to teach critical thinking, ethics, and human values while helping the next generation embrace innovation.

This is no longer only about technology. It is about people.

The mission remains. Need more coffee.

[AI Conversations with Doc Ligot @aiconvodocligot]

https://t.co/8aREYFZycz

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

Fyi Philhealth phishing scam. Do not click.

[Ivan 🇵🇭🇻🇦 @IvanAtHome]

Senator Cayetano looked disgusting--teeth protruding--in his blue shirt before the media. Very very disrespectful!

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

We’re Entering the Age of Orchestration

Everyone keeps talking about prompting. But honestly, prompting is becoming basic. The real AI skill now is orchestration.

AI can already:
* write
* code
* summarize
* research
* design
* analyze

So the value of humans is changing. For years, jobs were built around execution. You became valuable because you personally produced outputs. Now AI handles more of those outputs.

That means humans move upward into:
* coordination
* systems thinking
* decision-making
* workflow design
* leadership

That’s orchestration.

And I think many companies are completely underestimating how big this shift is. Most organizations still think AI readiness means:
“Teach employees how to prompt.”

No.

Real readiness means redesigning work itself. What happens when one person can manage multiple AI agents? What happens when tiny teams outperform giant departments? What happens when leaders manage systems instead of tasks?

Those are the real questions now. Prompting is just the entry point.

Orchestration is the future.

[AI Conversations with Doc Ligot @aiconvodocligot]

https://t.co/28MAAso5QS

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

IMF to PH: Spend more Steal Less. Kakahiya.

https://t.co/HIqCc675ZU

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

@frustratedDoe 🍧

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

Did the heat trigger something in the water? Twenty people I know have LBM past few days.

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

Register here: https://t.co/5KY0s3T57i

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

I want to share something I care deeply about. @cirrolytix and the UA&P School of Law are hosting a forum on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference: FIMI.

In simple terms, FIMI is when foreign groups try to influence what we think and how we act. They spread messages online, often in hidden and coordinated ways. The goal is to shape opinions, weaken trust, and affect decisions like elections. We already deal with fake news. But FIMI is more organized and more dangerous.

That’s why this forum is important. We’ll talk about what FIMI really means, how it affects the Philippines, and what we can do about it. We’ll also look at how to respond in a way that protects both national security and free speech.

For me, this is personal. I work in AI ethics and in fighting disinformation. I’ve seen how powerful these tools can be, and how easily they can be misused. We need clearer rules and better understanding.

If this matters to you, I hope you’ll join us.

April 29, UA&P Dizon Hall. Seats are limited: link in the comments.

@FCTayco @IvanAtHome

[Ivan 🇵🇭🇻🇦 @IvanAtHome]

We at @cirrolytix Research Services, collaboration with our great partners at UA&P School of Law, will be hosting a forum on “Malign Foreign Influence In Philippine Politics”, which aims to bring together stakeholders from government, civil society, media, academe, and the policy community to examine Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) as an issue of democratic resilience, information integrity, and institutional trust in the Philippine context.

This forum is available to all but registration required: https://t.co/oeqItK6a7W.

[AI Conversations with Doc Ligot @aiconvodocligot]

https://t.co/d4iuBndzjb

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

@pjcriii Yikes.

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

Upskill… Then What?

We keep hearing: learn AI, upskill, get ready. I agree. But I have one question:

Then what?

In the Philippines, we’re pushing skills hard. But jobs depend on more than skills. AI needs infrastructure: data centers, compute, strong internet. We’re still catching up there.

So even if people learn AI, they may not get to use it here. And when that happens, they leave. That’s the real risk.

We also focus a lot on AI risks like fake news. But we don’t talk enough about incentives. How do we help companies adopt AI? How do we create jobs?

Even in schools, the Department of Education is introducing AI. But teachers need training first.

For me, the issue is simple: We’re doing a lot, but not in sync.

AI is a system.

And right now, our system isn’t complete.

[AI Conversations with Doc Ligot @aiconvodocligot]

https://t.co/6vF73niYJ8

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

BPI scams have a thread on my phone.

[Dominic Ligot @docligot]

This opinion will not win points with the government.

But I will not sugarcoat for the sake of photo ops with politicians. I cannot smile while our schools burn.

[AI Conversations with Doc Ligot @aiconvodocligot]

https://t.co/NGqsnoO4qi