Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo delivers the keynote speech at the “Manila Social Good Summit 2023” with the theme “#Turning Tech for Good: From Problem to Solution” on September 16, 2023 at the Samsung Hall, SM Aura Premier in Taguig City. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
Technology must be used for the benefit of the people, “to address longstanding problems like inequality and injustice.”
This was emphasized by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo in his keynote speech at the Manila Social Good Summit 2023 on September 16, 2023 at the Samsung Hall, SM Aura Premier in Taguig City.
Chief Justice Gesmundo urged legislators and policymakers to practice “anticipatory governance” and to be proactive to ensure that artificial technology (AI) “will be beneficial to our people and will respect, protect, and uphold their rights.”
He also highlighted the importance of sustaining dialogue among the government, the tech industry, advocates, and experts from different areas of discipline, civil society, and ordinary citizens.
The Chief Magistrate, however, cautioned that there is a need to engage with technology critically and not to embrace the same heedlessly. He said: “Even as we use its tools—more and more of them becoming indispensable in how we live and work—we have to be mindful. We have to make space to think of things like ethical considerations, social impacts, environmental consequences, even its impacts on our own selves and relationships with others.”
In closing, Chief Justice Gesmundo rallied the attendees of the Summit, stating that “the future is still ours to forge; that it is our hands on the wheel; that whatever happens next is up to us.”
Organized by Rappler, the Summit is themed “#Turning Tech for Good: From Problem to Solution.” Among the speakers were Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Facebook whistleblower and data engineer Frances Haugen, and author and entrepreneur Andrew Keen, as well as leaders in tech, business, and civil society. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)