MANILA -- Businesses must not be afraid of using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve their products and processes, an official of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Thursday.

Speaking at an event in Makati, DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Dy said using AI results in net gains for businesses.

"We’re far from real AI where it will pass the Turing Test and become Terminator. Don’t worry about that. I think we’re decades away from that," he said.

"But here’s the catch, we all have to adapt to it," he added.

"If you want to go in front of the business, you have to use AI as a tool and use it wisely because most of the people, whether you like or not, whether I like it o not, with regulation or without, AI will be a tool or transforming businesses," he said.

Dy cited the use of AI and big data to predict stroke or diagnose diabetes among patients as among the examples of AI being used for good.

• Tech at CES shows how farmers can save time, money and the environment

For his part, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Deputy Executive Director Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro said anxiety usually precedes all new experiences.

"This one, a new experience is something that you have to be anxious about. But this is the reality--we have to evolve. We don’t have to get stuck by the Stone Age technology," he said.

Meanwhile, Mastercard Vice President Gamze Yurttutan said that while AI can be viewed as a threat, it can also be viewed as an opportunity.

"You can use it to make your lower-level tasks more streamlined, and then you as a person can focus on more innovative, more intellectual stuff."

The three spoke at a panel discussion at the launch of MinDA's partnership with Mastercard.

The partnership aims to help farmers’ cooperatives and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) transition to e-commerce platforms and cashless transactions.

Montenegro said the partnership is part of the Mindanao Development Agenda 2023-2028, which wants to accelerate Mindanao’s digital transformation through state-of-the-art digital infrastructure and an inclusive and globally connected innovation ecosystem.

Montenegro said they hope all 446 municipalities in Mindanao will have access to the internet. Only 309 are connected as of now, he said in a presentation.

• Strong consumer spending likely to continue as inflation eases