The Philippine government is eyeing the use of artificial intelligence to improve disaster monitoring and response in the country

Assistant Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Rochelle Gamboa said using AI for disaster response and monitoring was discussed during the recent Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR)

"Big part of the discussion during the conference is the use of artificial intelligence and different kinds of technologies to predict and monitor disasters, as well as to identify the solutions for the recovery," she said.

Gamboa said experts from government agencies are also looking into possible use of AI through smartphones for early warning or monitoring of areas that might be affected by floods.

" We're going there (use of AI). That is being considered by our experts from the local government and different agencies of the national government," she said.

Gamboa said during the conference the cooperation regarding disaster awareness, preparedness and response was strengthened not just on the local level but also on the Asia-Pacific level.

"We can learn from the technologies that are being used by Japan for prediction and responding to earthquakes ? that’s just one of the examples," she added.

The five-day conference was held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City from October 14 to 18. Robina Asido/DMS