On May 4, 2023, I conducted two, two-hour lectures for the University of Cebu students and faculty, in their Banilad Campus, which serves as home to different colleges including their College of Law. I have lectured in this campus several times prior to the pandemic, and one thing that I can say, then and now, is that it is run very professionally and the facilities are quite clean. It is also one of the very few places that I truly felt that innate rush of academic adrenaline that is specially invigorating when one is about to share insights and experiences via lectures.
For my first lecture, I set out to briefly discuss some of the important drivers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. I delved more in detail on two.
The first is "Artificial Intelligence" or "A.I." I broke down the component technologies that comprise A.I., and showed how these actually contribute to the impression that A.I. technologies seem "intelligent", and appear to have "autonomy" whereas in fact, they do not apply any logic or reasoning processes, but are mere crunchers of big data and statistical correlators of lexical connections, that have nothing to do with what we know as "intelligence". These A.I. technologies like ChatGPT, rely on big data, which takes up a lot of power to process, and do not guarantee accuracy, nor authenticity, as the unfortunate February 2023 Google Bard incident showed.
Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal at the start of his lectures for the University of Cebu audience, May 4, 2023
Aside from reporting falsities, A.I. technologies can, because of the way they are programmed, learn biases and reflect the horrifying discriminations from netizens and from online information that they interact with. What is also disconcerting to some is the real and actual threat of A.I. systems and tools to displace several workers and professionals in various industries. Since the Philippines does not have any existing legal or regulatory framework that applies specifically to A.I., I introduced several legal standards and ethical frameworks developed in some jurisdictions concerning the development, roll-out and applications of A.I. As I told the attendees, the coming 5 to 10 years would be crucial for the Philippines to get things right, A.I. wise.
The second is additive manufacturing or 3D printing. Instead of building things by subtracting materials, thereby leading to wastage, 3D printing builds materials layer by layer through the use of "ink" materials made from special filaments that could range from ABS (a form of plastic), to stainless steel, to food substances like chocolate, etc., by various processes. I showed the audience how many industries, particularly those in manufacturing, are greatly affected by it.
My Ph.D Law alma mater, the University of Queensland in Australia, for example, has one of the best aerospace student programs in, dare I say it, the world, UQSpace. It has been using 3D printing to print rocket parts sustainably and with faster completion times. A team of UQSpace students/engineers won an award last March 2023 for their 3d printed rocket engine powered by oxygen and hydrogen that produce zero CO2 emissions.
UQSpace 3D printed rocket from Dr. Atty. Ramiscal's Ph.D alma mater, the University of Queensland, Australia
The most important part of whatever process the 3D printed materials is created, is definitely the Computer Assisted Design (CAD) file that serves as the "blueprint" for the finished material. I delved on the several layers of legal issues from a technological and intellectual property right perspective that surround the CAD files.
I introduced the participants to the work of Dr. Lee Cronin, the brilliant "mad" chemist who is trying to computerize all the known formulae and processes that go into the production of medical drugs, put them all in a "chempiler", that has the ability to analyze all the information, even from scientific papers, and work with 3D printers that print any selected drug on demand. His vision of 3D printing drugs anywhere anytime is nothing short of earth shattering, particularly for the pharmaceutical and related industries.
Aside from 3D printers being used in printing medical devices, prosthetic devices and even human organs, it is also now utilized in the fast food industry. McDonald's was supposedly set to debut its 3D printed burgers and buns in 2020 and in 2022, but has been delayed due to the pandemic. But 3D printed vegan burgers made from chickpeas, printed in restaurants, are now made available by SavorEats from Israel.
All of these bring their host of legal, philosophical, religious and even health issues that have to be scrutinized under the Philippine legal and cultural milieu.
The second lecture I delivered dealt with the use of some of these technological drivers of the 4th I.R. to facilitate gender based or SOGIE based violence. I delved on how abusers have increasingly used technological tools and devices to actually perpetrate sexual abuse and crimes against their prey. One of these drivers, the Internet of Things (IoT) have specially been crucial in technologically gaslighting vulnerable victims to doubt their own sense of reality, and erode their self-confidence, so they are at the absolute mercy and control of their abusers.
What is crucial in understanding this type of violence is that the manifestations can be intrusive, constant, and psychologically devastating. But because most of the time, there is no physical sign of abuse on the person of the victim, law enforcement authorities minimize or ignore its dangers, until the violence escalates into the victim's injury or worse, death.
Another technological driver, augmented reality, which is crucial in the "Metaverse", that the former FaceBook, now Meta, and other big players like Microsoft, RoBlox, etc., are striving to build, had already been shown to be susceptible to being corrupted by predators. Virtual worlds built by Meta (which are accessible through e-devices like Meta's Oculus Rift), VRChat and Rec Room had been turned into e-dens for virtual sexual assaults, sexism and racism, despite the technological safeguards built by the creators of these worlds.
I emphasized that the Philippines actually has more than adequate laws to protect targets of this type of violence. While there are certainly huge gaps in the implementation of these laws by the authorities, my own assessment is that gender based or SOGIE based violence, in whatever form, continues to exist rabidly in the Philippines due to the wide acceptance of religious, cultural and social beliefs that tolerate and justify the degradation and oppression of women and LGBTQIA+ peoples.
Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal amongst the audience in his May 4, 2023 lectures at the University of Cebu, Banilad
I gave examples of specific ancient literature, rites and practices in different religions and countries all over the world which are still currently extant and taught in these states. I apprised the participants that the World Health Organization several years ago, came out with a list of beliefs that engender violence and discrimination against women and those in the LGBTQIA+ community. It is more than apparent that these beliefs can be traced back to the writings and practices I briefly discussed. It was truly a great thing that my audience was quite diverse consisting of lawyers, other professionals, and students from various disciplines including law, and education. Some of them confirmed the existence of these beliefs and practices in their own personal and professional spheres.
Atty. Emy Parcon sharing her insights at Dr. Atty. Ramiscal's UC Lecture, May 4, 2023
Before I end this, I also discussed those false sexual and gender myths circulated about women and LGBTQIA+ peoples that help perpetrate the vicious cycle of online and real time violence. I apprised them of the current trend of regression seen in several countries around the world that threaten to erode the rights and autonomy of women over their bodies, and the legal rights of trans people, particularly the trans youth and transwomen, who are arguably, and currently, the most discriminated class of people, globally, due to the prevalent legal trend of binding the definition of gender to biological chromosomes. It is saddening that the Philippines has no current law that gives trans people the legal protection they deserve and need.
Group shot with some of the students and professionals that attended Dr. Atty. Ramiscal's UC lectures, May 4, 2023
Kudos and heartfelt thanks to the University of Cebu MCLE Committee and staff, and in particular, Atty. Lorenil Archival who actually did her best to promote the lectures, up to the very hours I was lecturing! Thank you to the hosts, the technical people, and the wonderful participants, including the several law students who contributed their questions and insights to the discussion, and the slew of lawyers, especially Atty. Emy Parcon, who gave her perspective and generous feedback on the matters that my lectures raised. The four hours went by like a breeze! God Bless!
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