CEBU CITY (Jan. 25, 2024) — Levelling up, enhancement, and facelifting are facets of the city’s thrust towards digitalization, part of it is putting up a smart traffic light system, according to Mayor Mike Rama.
“The world today is now highly AI, artificial intelligence,” noted the mayor when interviewed during the Ingna’ng Mayor segment over Sugboanon Channel today.
“There is no reason why dili ta mo-adopt ana. Mo-adopt gyud ta,” he said referring to the suggestion of Councilor Rey Gealon to adopt a traffic light system that uses AI to manage the flow of vehicles in city streets.
“The use of AI would greatly benefit Filipinos, in general, and Cebuanos, in particular, as it would improve the traffic situation and would save time, allowing for a smoother transportation,” noted a City Council resolution Gealon, also Traffic Management Committee chair, authored.
His suggestion came as Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI), the city’s joint venture partner at the 40-hectare City di Mare (CDM) at South Road Properties (SRP) disclosed about the installation of an AI-backed traffic control system.
FLI’s Eng’r. Gwen Sala told Patigayon Sugbo over Sugboanon Channel on Jan. 19 that the AI-conrolled lighting system will allow a seamless flow of traffic between CDM and Cebu South Coastal Road by mid-February.
Rama said the idea to adopt an AI-driven traffic control system augurs well with his thrust for Cebu City to become a Smart City.
“Putting it all together, we are now into online. Seamless, connectivity, digitalization, outsourcing … without having to forget, the thrust of our national government, which is right-sizing and downsizing,” he said.
“When the city becomes very smart, what does it mean, economically we are very up, progressive and productive,” he pointed out.
The world today is now highly AI, artificial intelligence. There is no reason why dili ta mo-adopt ana. Mo-adopt gyud ta.
Mayor Mike Rama
Associating digitalization to movies, Rama said: “Let us not maintain being Jurassic. Let us look forward, like Star Wars.”
“Gikan sa Ninja Turtle, nipadu’ng (ta) sa Voltes V. Naabot ang Transformers, naa pa’y Avatar, naa pa’y Avengers, naa pa’y Mobile Legend,” he added.
The mayor also associated the thrust towards digitalization in harnessing human resources, citing a huge plant he visited the other day in Singapore where he is now for an official business with some city officials.
He shared that he saw only one person operating and monitoring the facility. “The world in terms of human resource, naabot na’ng robotics,” he said.
Rama said Cebuanos should take a paradigm shift and expand their horizons, that there is a better future than just what one is used to, than think about losing jobs as a result of rightsizing and downsizing.
It is all about mind-setting, proper direction, the right education and training to adopt with the changes that digitalization brings.
| PPRMN/cte
Cebu City • News & Information 