Cathy Mae Toquero
The emergence of the AI era has shaken higher educational institutions (HEIs) due to its enormous potential or detrimental impact on academic culture. Educational leaders and policymakers have attempted to create policies as part of stringent measures while navigating the legal and ethical implications of AI implementation. In light of contrasting views on current AI debates in the Philippine educational arena, this study aims to determine the trajectories, trends, and futures of AI policies in the Philippine context. This study applied content analysis of publicly available documents, websites, social media posts, narratives of HEI leaders, and other relevant memoranda related to AI. Due to the limited AI policies in HEIs in the country, this is a preliminary analysis of available documents. It examined the trends covered by the scope of AI policies in light of the uniquely diverse sociocultural context of the Philippines, while considering the technological limitations compared to developed nations. This study examined proposed AI government policies, AI university policies, the ethical ramifications of AI on HEI curricula, and the current impact of AI on employment and job market demands. Moreover, to determine AI trajectories in Philippine HEIs, document reviews were conducted to identify the existing efforts of educational policymakers and legislative bodies to systematise AI policies for legal and ethical actions to enhance quality assurance in the HEI teaching–learning environment. Based on the document analysis, the study revealed that Philippine universities' AI policies exhibit pedagogical, operational, and governance dimensions of the Ecological Education Policy Framework. However, a fourth dimension, the normative dimension, was uncovered as Filipinos uphold cultural diversity, community-oriented practices, and traditional identity. A reflection from a four-part typology of university AI policies and practices shows that Philippine HEIs are between Keepers and Experimenters due to disaggregated AI policies, and at most, left to department-level policymaking. The AI policy implications and AI framework are offered for potential futures of AI in the Philippines. © 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Mindanao State University - General Santos, General Santos City, Philippines; Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia
