Director General Santiago painted a cautiously optimistic picture of this balancing act for the 2019 OLFU Batch of graduates who are on the cusp of joining the workforce and facing the so-called ‘real world’.

“You are called upon to be responsible ‘cyber citizens,’ who make sure that your time online is time well-spent and not time wasted. Use online and offline platforms to spread awareness, to educate your fellow citizens, and to disseminate accurate and verified news,” said the government official, warning of the dangers that pervasive technology may pose to human interactions & causes.

Losing touch of what makes people,  especially young members of society already ‘digital natives’, human, is detrimental to one’s historical identity.  Moreover, losing touch of this human element may even disadvantage the present generation from developing needed communication skills and genuine human experience.

However, maintaining a human-driven experiences does not mean letting the wave of technology pass by, noted the Director General.

“Acknowledging that artificial intelligence, and the prevalence of automated technology, will eventually edge out manual processes and skills, there is a need to adapt to this change,” said Director General Santiago.

“As the world speeds up, we must all keep moving ourselves. Be competitive to keep pace, never stop learning new things, acquire new skills, and engage in creative activities,” Director General Santiago reminded the graduates.