The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the Philippines and the University of Cambridge SupTech Lab (the Lab) co-hosted the Enabling the Internet Transactions Act Workshop, with speakers from the Central Bank of the Philippines and DTI to discuss their Proto AI citizen experience deployments.
On January 22, over 15 government agencies in the Philippines came together for a workshop on enabling the country’s new Internet Transactions Act. Jointly organised by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Lab, this workshop explored global advancements in AI-based citizen experience (AICX) and supervisory technology (SupTech), with a particular focus on the foundational role of the Philippines government in adopting and nurturing these solutions.
The workshop kicked off with a showcase of two Proto chatbots developed for the DTI and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). PJ Roque, BNRS Division Chief of the DTI, introduced the Trade and Industry Assistant (TIA) chatbot, offering 24/7 service to Filipinos across multiple local languages and sub-agency services. Additionally, Paul Khristan Baylon, BSP's Deputy Director, presented the BSP’s Online Buddy (BOB) chatbot. Developed by Proto, BOB enhances the financial recourse process by ensuring accessibility across several messaging channels and local languages, including Taglish (mixed Tagalog and English). Notably, BOB is currently automating consumer protection for over 12,000 citizens per month.
Both deployments, in addition to Proto’s other chatbots for the Philippines government such as the Securities & Exchange Commission, will be upgraded in the coming months with GPT, knowledge management, and voice capabilities. Most importantly for citizen access to consumer protection, the AI-based communication channels of the government agencies mandated under the Internet Transactions Act can be integrated to allow for one-stop service for citizens.
The workshop was then led by the Co-Head of the Cambridge SupTech Lab Matt Grasser, who shared the Lab’s plans for scaling-out global consumer protection deployments and criteria for supporting large-scale government projects, with funding opportunities aligned with the Internet Transactions Act.
Proto's CEO Curtis Matlock provided a final presentation, demonstrating how the AI-based citizen engagement deployments can be upgraded with privacy-centric GPT features and integrations between the agencies’ chatbots for the seamless case management mandated by the Internet Transaction Act.
DTI Undersecretary Mary Jean Pacheco shared the closing statement regarding the next step of cross-agency government collaboration for integrating and scaling-out the various AICX deployments. With thanks to all stakeholders and speakers, the workshop laid the groundwork for a whole-of-government approach to enabling the integrated consumer protection and citizen engagement capability envisioned within the Internet Transactions Act.
Anticipating successful implementation of the workshop’s concepts, the Philippines will be positioned as a leading nation on AI-based citizen engagement. This would follow its recognition as the first successful deployment of a consumer protection chatbot by a central bank.
About the Cambridge SupTech Lab:
The Cambridge SupTech Lab is a research hub at the University of Cambridge focused on applying technology to enhance financial regulatory supervision. It collaborates with industry and regulators to advance supervisory technology (SupTech) and drive innovation in financial oversight.
About the Department of Trade and Industry:
The Department of Trade and Industry is the executive department of the Philippines government responsible for business and trade innovation, growth, and consumer protection. The department consists of six functional groups that collaborate to deliver services to businesses and the public, and facilitate policymaking to further business development across the Philippines.
About Proto:
Proto is the leading generative AI platform for local customer experience. Powered by GPT and its own proprietary AI engine, Proto's AI Customer Experience (AICX) Platform automates transactions, tickets, bookings, and other high-volume interactions for local and mixed languages across text, voice and 20+ messaging channels. Proto is globally-recognized for its inclusive AICX solutions across the government, financial, health and e-commerce industries. For more information, visit proto.cx.
