MANILA — Dozens of Filipino journalists, members of the academe and various organizations are expected to attend Tuesday’s forum (Oct. 22, 2024) on the challenges and risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), along with opportunities it may bring to the news coverage of elections. 


The event, dubbed “AJF@PH Connect Forum”, will be headlined by three experts who will deliver their presentations in hybrid mode — online via videoconferencing and in-person at the Aboitiz Tech Space of the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City.

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This forum tackling generative AI (GenAI) is the first project of the Filipino alumni of the Asia Journalism Fellowship (AJF), a research fellowship for journalists organized by Singapore’s Temasek Foundation and the Institute of Policy Studies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. 
 

The first expert is Miguel D'Souza, a journalist, researcher, and digital trainer. He is a researcher with the University of Technology-Sydney Centre for Media Transition, and an expert on news verification and data storytelling for the Digital News Academy, a partnership between Google and News Corp Australia. 

Also speaking is Jaemark Tordecilla, former editor-in-chief of GMA News Online who also served as senior assistant vice president of GMA Network.

A 2024 fellow of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, he holds a degree in computer science and a Master's degree in Technology Management from the University of the Philippines.

The third speaker, Dr. Michelle Banawan, is a full-time faculty member of the Aboitiz School of Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship at AIM.

Her post-doctoral research at the Arizona State University focused on Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Data Science, and AI in Education.

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Ron Cruz of the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) will moderate the Q&A panel discussion after the experts’ presentations, while the Straits Times’ Mara Cepeda will emcee the event.

Filipino alumni from different batches working as independent media professionals, and also with ABS-CBN News, GMA News, Rappler, The Philippine Star, PTV, along with other regional and national news organizations have come together to mount the forum.

The AJF started bringing together to Singapore in 2009 mid-career journalists from Asia to learn, exchange ideas, work together, and get to know one another.

It has 238 fellows from 22 countries and economies, including 21 journalists from the Philippines.

The Fellowship has been hosted since 2017 by the Institute of Policy Studies of the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

It was hosted by the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University from 2009 to 2016.