Globe calls for stronger AI foundations, united scam defense to future-proof PH digital ecosystem

By TechWatch PH Staff

As artificial intelligence adoption accelerates and cyber threats become more sophisticated, Globe Telecom is urging deeper investments in secure digital infrastructure and closer collaboration across sectors to protect Filipinos online. 

The company said the country’s digital progress will ultimately depend on how well trust, security, and governance are built into emerging technologies from the start.

Globe said it is laying the groundwork for a secure, AI-powered future through enterprise-grade systems that include agent-based architectures, shared landing zones, and MLOps pipelines. These foundations are designed to allow faster development while ensuring that AI systems remain auditable, aligned across teams, and governed by built-in safeguards covering privacy, cybersecurity, and responsible AI use. 

According to Derick Adil, resilience today goes beyond system uptime and now requires ethical, secure, and explainable technologies that can scale responsibly. 

“Resilience today means more than uptime. It’s about systems that stay ethical, secure, and explainable as they scale,” said Adil, Globe’s Head of AI and Privacy Governance. “We’re building an AI-powered Globe designed to earn and keep trust.”

The company is also backing more agile, sandbox-style regulation at the national level, similar to models used in other digital economies, to allow innovators and policymakers to test new technologies in controlled environments. 

Globe said its internal AI Kitchen and Center for Enablement already operate on this principle, giving teams safe spaces to experiment with AI tools, low-code platforms, and agent-based systems. The company believes this co-creation approach can help shape practical policies that balance innovation with consumer protection.

At the same time, Globe warned that scams are evolving rapidly, with fraudsters now using techniques such as spoofed sender IDs, fake cell towers, and cross-border coordination to bypass traditional safeguards. 

In response, Globe said it has blocked all person-to-person SMS messages containing links, a move it said no other local operator is currently implementing, and has removed links from its own text broadcasts. Machine learning models are also used to score and flag suspicious numbers, which are then reviewed by Globe’s Security Operations Center before being deactivated.

For Globe, scam prevention can no longer be handled in silos. Irish Salandanan-Almeida said combating modern fraud requires real-time coordination among telcos, banks, regulators, and digital platforms. 

“Stopping scams is no longer a one-company issue. It requires close coordination across telcos, banks, regulators, and platforms,” said Atty. Salandanan-Almeida, Globe’s Chief Privacy Officer. “We’re working toward real-time intelligence sharing, because that’s what today’s threats demand.”

Beyond network-level defenses, Globe has rolled out ScamShield on its GlobeOne app for Android to warn users about potentially fraudulent messages. The company has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bankers’ Association of the Philippines and entered into multiple data-sharing agreements with banks and partner institutions, following regulatory guidance that clarified fraud prevention as a valid basis for cross-sector collaboration.

Globe said public-private partnerships should now be treated as essential digital infrastructure, critical to expanding connectivity in underserved areas, improving AI readiness, and strengthening the country’s scam defenses. 

With aligned priorities and shared accountability, the company said the Philippines can move faster toward a more secure and inclusive digital future.

These views were shared during Globe’s participation at the GSMA Digital Nations Summit in Manila, where leaders from government, telecommunications, finance, and technology discussed how to build a trusted and future-ready digital economy for the region.