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Artificial intelligence (AI) is a groundbreaking discovery by humans. Whether we admit it or not, AI has been a helpful tool for small business owners, students, and the average person for anything they need.

But above all things, AI has been highly controversial. I honestly believe that a lot of people are increasingly becoming dependent on AI to think and navigate their lives.

There are also real issues about people losing their homes, dirty water, and increased electrical bills because of living near these AI data centers. There are issues such as data privacy, the inhumane ways corporations train these AIs through manual filtering by humans to screen out torture and violent content, and the fact that AI is simply too ubiquitous everywhere.

These companies, and everyone else, are treating AI like it’s the eighth wonder of the world, and I’ll be honest, almost everyone is relying on it way too much and overvaluing it.

What is Pax Silica Anyway?

The proposed Pax Silica project is a US-led international economic security initiative launched in December 2025 to secure global supply chains for semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and critical minerals, while countering technological dominance by China.

Basically, it’s a way to secure the technical components used in AI for everyone (US-allied countries). With the Philippines allowing this, the country could earn big from investments, along with the potential for the actual construction of power plants and data centers in the country in the future.

The Horrible Truth About AI and It’s Data Centers

Aside from the fact that consumer prices of computer components like RAM, CPUs, and storage are going through the roof, there are also real-life consequences from these AI data centers.

I’ve been watching a lot of content from penguinz0 / MoistCr1tikal (Charlie) lately, and it really is a no-brainer how awful the effects of these data centers are. In fact, there is news all over the US about these data centers.

Just some of the struggles and negative experiences of people who live near these data centers are:

• Increase in electricity bills
• Dirty water due to water being used to cool data centers
• Environmental damage due to clearing of forests and flattening of land
• Loss of homes and forced relocation under the guise of eminent domain law

You can watch more about this issue, which is affecting thousands of citizens, and Charlie’s commentary here.

The False Claim for More Job Opportunities

The current President of the Philippines, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. recently expressed his stand on this project and he was very much in favor of this project.

The current President of the Philippines, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., recently expressed his stance on this project, and he is very much in favor of it.

Marcos himself stated this in the State of the Nation Address (SONA 2026), saying that it will bring quality jobs, create industrial competitiveness, and revitalize the economy.

The construction of Pax Silica opens up the possibility of building data centers. And although it is true that these data centers need maintenance employees, that number is usually not very large.

Depending on the size of the megawatt generated by the data center, a data center can employ about 8 to 35+ employees only. These employees usually are made out of IT & Network Technicians who look after the computing hardware, and Critical Environment (CE) Technicians who keep the physical building powered and cooled. Even if these are quality jobs they are nowhere efficient enough to provide opportunities for the 2.6 million unemployed Filipinos (June 2026).

Actual Job Opportunities from This Project

I believe there are real job opportunities in this project in the short term that may provide jobs for the local community, though I doubt these jobs will be high quality.

• Miners – Pax Silica is meant to secure precious minerals, Filipinos may be employed to mine for these materials. Mining is a physically demanding blue-collar job with minimal pay (₱13,000–₱20,000/month)
• Construction Workers – Construction of the project could require Filipino laborers, carpenters, masons, welders, electricians, equipment operators often paid a daily wage of ₱600–₱800 per day.
• Warehouse Staff & Project Managers – While project managers can earn considerably more than manual workers, warehouse positions are generally lower paid, and the number of management positions would be relatively limited.
• Security Guards – Security work is generally a low-paying occupation, with salaries typically around ₱15,000 to ₱20,000 per month, and it does not require the highly specialized skills often associated with this technology.

Long-Term Jobs and Are Employees AI-Ready?

Even if the AI industry booms and creates businesses (which will take years, even with foreign investment) and companies that can employ people more reliably, are these employees trained and prepared by the government to become AI-ready?

A lot of companies that thrive through AI need employees who are already familiar with the technology and can use it efficiently. If the government and the people themselves fail to grasp the importance of the rapidly changing job industry and its need for AI skills, Pax Silica will not make a dent in the unemployment problem.

What’s your take on Pax Silica? Do you think it will be able to generate jobs for Filipinos? Will it benefit the economy? Comment down below!