Artificial intelligence (AI) is witnessing an unprecedented uptake during the past years and has been described with numerous superlatives and historical parallels. Notwithstanding its perceived economic benefits, this frontier technology also comes with numerous societal risks. Painting a clear picture of the current winners and losers, and whether the benefits will outweigh the risks, therefore remains hazy. Under this backdrop, governments around the world have begun introducing numerous governance and regulatory instruments on AI with the European Union (EU) leading the way through its EU AI Act. International and multilateral organizations have also followed suit resulting in a slew of ethical guidelines and frameworks, which are often criticized as ambiguous and lacking the necessary enforcement mechanisms.
As the Philippines has also joined in the race to regulate AI, it is important for policymakers to be informed of the current lay of the AI land in order to guide present legislations in the 19th Congress. This paper first introduces the concept and definition of AI as well as its types based on capabilities and functionalities. It then discusses the promises and pitfalls of AI before proceeding to the current global developments and trends in regulation and governance. The Philippine context in terms of present government roadmaps and bills filed in the House of Representatives ensues before concluding through possible ways forward for policymakers.