How AI is Affecting Creative Jobs in the Philippines: A Report by the ILO
Written by: Gerard Navarro, Exective Director MMACP
Hey fellow creators, I'm sharing this recent article from BusinessMirror because it hits incredibly close to home for all of us.
As the Executive Director of the Multimedia Arts Council of the Philippines (MMACP), one of our core mandates is to closely monitor how artificial intelligence is reshaping creative jobs, affecting our industry, our community, and the academe.
Let's dive into the details. (Full disclosure: I asked Gemini to help me break this data down as simply as possible so we can digest it quickly!)
According to the latest International Labour Organization (ILO) report highlighted by BusinessMirror, the Philippines ranks No. 2 in ASEAN for AI-exposed jobs. As an artist myself, this isn't just a statistic—it’s a reality we are all actively navigating as generative AI transforms how we create, design, and work.
Read more about ILO Study here
Here is what is happening in plain terms:
How it hits our industry: AI is technically capable of handling or assisting with a massive chunk of our daily creative tasks. While widespread job disruption hasn't completely hit us yet, the entry pathways for younger artists are shrinking, fundamentally changing how new talent breaks into the field.
Jobs feeling the heat: Entry-level digital illustration, layout, copy editing, and high-exposure clerical roles (like data entry or basic office support) are facing the heaviest impact.
What MMACP is doing about it:
We hear you, and we are actively listening. We refuse to let our community get left behind. Right now, within our immediate capacity, we are expanding our AI upskilling initiatives to help you master these tools as powerful assistants, rather than viewing them as competitors.
But this is just the beginning. We need a much larger sandbox discussion covering ethics, copyright, and protecting creative livelihoods.
Let’s talk in the comments:
👇 How has your daily workflow changed? Have you experienced direct displacement due to AI, or did it feel more like standard corporate restructuring? More importantly, what are the positive ways we can integrate AI into our creative work instead?
