by Jan Michael Carpo, Reporter
Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of tech giant Amazon, revealed recently that there is an opportunity for the Philippines to “leap ahead” of its current status and become a leader in cyber security through the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
During a virtual media briefing, Phil Rodrigues, AWS Commercial Head of Security for Asia Pacific and Japan, said, “I do see an opportunity for the Philippines to have a leadership role in cybersecurity,” quickly adding that generative AI can help train cybersecurity professionals in the country.
Phil Rodrigues, AWS Commercial Head of Security for Asia Pacific and Japan
“We’re finding that augmenting developers with data security tools can help improve code security. That’s a very practical and a very ‘now’ place that the Philippines can start with,” he said.
He cited existing AI tools such as Amazon Inspector — an automated vulnerability management service that scans workloads for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure — and Amazon Code Whisperer, a productivity tool that generates real-time single or full-function secure code suggestions for developers.
Rodrigues further shared that compared to around 3,000 in Singapore, the Philippines currently has only about 200 cybersecurity professionals. “At AWS, we believe these numbers can easily go up,” he said.
Free skills training to inspire Filipinos
In February 2022, the cloud giant launched the AWS re/Start program. This free, 12-week, full-time skills development program prepares unemployed or underemployed individuals for entry-level careers in the cloud.
The program, which aims to provide free skills training and inspire Filipinos to transition into a career in cloud computing, was made in collaboration with Edukasyon.ph and another organization.
AWS also launched the “AI Ready” program last year to provide free AI skills training for up to two million people worldwide by 2025.
“We like to democratize security, we look at how to protect ourselves, and we take that opportunity and turn it into tools to help our customers protect themselves. We are also democratizing technology and security,” Rodrigues said.
He estimated that MadPot — Amazon’s threat intelligence tool that creates phoney digital targets that lure attackers to study and counter their methods — gets more than 100 million connection attempts per day. “There is a very high global activity on this and the most common — generally — are credential attacks. This continues to be the number one way to attack a system,” he further explained.
Continuing its investments in PH
During the same event, Oliver Klein, Chief Technologist in Asia Pacific at AWS, told reporters that the company is committed to continue investing in the Philippines — both in terms of making cloud services available and in tapping local talent that would be trained and hired later by the company.
Oliver Klein, Chief Technologist in Asia Pacific at AWS
“In 2014, we, for example, announced the first availability of an ACH location in Manila to our Amazon Cloud network,” Klein shared. “Then, in April 2021, we announced the availability of AWS Outpost, which allowed access to the same hardware and infrastructure that AWS was building on for a potential hybrid on-premise deployment last year.”
He also shared the company’s approach to generative AI through investments made in the Philippines such as the launch of AWS Local Zones location in Manila in June last year. AWS Local Zones are a type of infrastructure deployment that places computing, storage, database, and other select services closer to large populations, thus enabling single-digit latency to end-users.
Other AWS investments include the availability of Amazon Interactive Video Service points of presence in April 2022 and the Amazon CloudFront in December 2014.
“Our approach to generative AI is to invest, take this technology out of the realm of research, and make it available to customers of any size as well as to developers of all skill levels,” he stated further.
Beefing up its capabilities in PH
In the same event, Klein further stated that AWS has since beefed up the capabilities of its Amazon Interactive video service with Point of Presence specifically in the Philippines.
He also expounded further on the technology predictions made by Werner Vogels, Amazon’s Chief Technology Officer, during the AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas, saying that it could create a huge impact in the technology sector this year.
A quick summary of Vogel’s tech predictions for 2024 and beyond are as follows:
- Generative AI becomes culturally aware – Large language models (LLMs) trained on culturally diverse data will gain a more nuanced understanding of human experience and complex societal challenges. This cultural fluency will make generative AI more accessible to users worldwide.
- FemTech finally takes off – in 2024, women’s healthcare will reach an inflection point as FemTech investment surges, care goes hybrid, and an abundance of data shall unlock improved diagnoses and patient outcomes. Its rise will not only benefit women but it will lift the entire healthcare system as well.
- AI assistants redefine developer productivity – AI assistants will evolve from basic code generators into teachers and tireless collaborators who provide support throughout the software development lifecycle. They will explain complex systems in simple language, suggest targeted improvements, and take on repetitive tasks, allowing developers to focus on the parts of their work that have the most impact.
- Education evolves to match the speed of technology — Higher education alone cannot keep up with the rate of technological change. In 2024, industry-led skills-based training programs will emerge that more closely resemble the journeys of skilled tradespeople. This shift to continuous learning will benefit individuals and businesses alike.
“A lot will be related to data and artificial intelligence, and the first tech prediction is where we continue to invest into,” he said. Klein also stated that AWS is making lots of investments in the generative AI space and they’re doing it by helping a variety of startups and other companies to build culturally aware large language models (LLM) within the region.
“In line with this,” he said, “you would have examples such as SEA LION in Southeast Asia — a program launched by Singapore’s National Research Foundation.” SEA-LION is a family of large language models (LLMs) that are specifically pre-trained and instruct-tuned to be more culturally accurate, localized, and tailored fit to Southeast Asian languages and cultures.
He adds that AWS sees a continuous rise in the development of LLMs that are very specific not only to the industry but are also culturally aware in the region and culturally aware to the Philippines.
Aside from making it easy, practical, and more cost-effective for customers to use cloud computing and generative AI in their businesses, the AWS executive also talked about the importance of digital training and upskilling people.
“In my presentation, I talked about foundation models. I also talked about how we are now investing in industry or use-case-specific generative AI-powered applications that can help you do this and that. But I believe that aside from technology, it is also important to upskill people. That’s why we continue to invest in training and certification programs — in particular, training courses that are related to generative AI.”