Hello there!

WARNING: This is a long one, but I’ll connect it to AI at the end, I promise!

The other day, I posted on Facebook complaining about this month’s high electricity bill. My wife and I are finding it funny that everyone is now lecturing us on household energy consumption because of it. 🤣

Totally my bad, I should’ve provided more context. First of all, I hate repeating myself, since my career background is a story I've already told soooo many times before. So much so that I didn't think I needed to tell the story again because I feel people are getting tired of it. But I forgot that not all people have heard of it, especially new followers and non-followers of the page. I shouldn't have assumed everyone already knew. 😅 But then again, I also didn’t expect my post to blow up, since it’s not the usual content I put out. I just wanted to vent my anger, man. But alas, here we are.

If you've heard my story, feel free to ignore this if you want. Although this time I'll go a bit deeper. It's been years since we both left Meralco, the largest power distribution utility in the country, so I guess it's safe to divulge more details about our previous jobs there. So here goes...

Guys, my wife and I are former Meralco employees. (PLOT TWIST!) It was both our first jobs fresh out of college, having graduated with an economics and an electrical engineering degree, respectively. We’ve had lengthy careers at Meralco. After almost a decade, I left in 2016 having successfully switched careers into tech. My wife, meanwhile, left in 2019 completing seven years of service.

We were not SIMPLY Meralco employees either, as we were assigned in departments that worked directly on energy sourcing and dispatch, and the operation and monitoring of the WHOLE energy distribution system. I won't go too much into details, but we had direct knowledge of where energy was being sourced, how it was transmitted from the power plants to the Meralco franchise up to the substations and, finally, to the distribution transformers perched on poles that serve your areas. We had direct contact with the power generation companies Meralco had contracts with, WESM, and of course, NGCP. As in one phone call away. 🤣 With a single click of a mouse, we were capable of cutting off and restoring power in any area of the franchise, from streets to blocks to barangays to whole cities. We were also in charge of dispatching and coordinating field crews during maintenance and emergency power restoration efforts. Looking back, it was a pretty cool gig, salary notwithstanding.

[Fun facts: I even ran an anonymous blog in the late 2000s to early 2010s where I occasionally provided information and explainers about scheduled power interruptions, storm-induced blackouts, and the energy crisis we had back then. Meanwhile, my wife once graced the cover of the monthly company magazine (she’s still embarrassed about it lol). We also both won medals in different sports categories at the MVP Olympics, an annual sports event held between companies under the Metro Pacific umbrella, which also included PLDT, Smart, TV5, Maynilad, etc.]

Why am I bringing these all up? To gloat? No, not at all. I just want to put things into perspective before I say this: most of you missed the point of the original post. Again, it’s totally my fault for not framing things properly, not yours. Nevertheless, I sincerely thank all the people who shared their “energy saving” tips in the comments. I’m pretty sure a lot of people learned from them. But yeah, that was not the point of the post.

First, I may not know everything, but my background in electrical engineering and the power industry should at least count for something. It equips me with a particular set of skills that enables me to critically examine our electric bill. My rant had nothing to do with broken meters, nor jumper cables from unscrupulous neighbors, nor appliance efficiency, nor can it be solved by solar panels, especially since we live in a condominium unit.

Second, the pattern of our consumption history doesn’t indicate anything out of the ordinary. In fact, our total kWh consumption was actually LOWER than last year! This meant that our energy conservation efforts were working!

Lastly, the point of the original post was that despite our consumption being lower year-on-year, despite us using the AC much less than last year, despite my wife not working from home anymore… The Peso value on our electricity bill still went up significantly! Comparing with July which had the same level of consumption as last month, our bill today is higher by 12.5%!

Look at it this way, for every PHP 100 we paid last July, we would now have to pay PHP 12.5 more for the exact same kWh consumption. For every PHP 1,000 paid last July, we would now have to pay an additional PHP 125. Our actual bill last July 2025 was around PHP 5,600, now it’s PHP 6,300. Again, FOR THE EXACT SAME KWH CONSUMPTION.

Reiterating what I said in the post, a 12.5% increase in less than a year is absurd. I’m surprised that no one, especially the government, is alarmed about this. Meralco has been steadily increasing their rates these past few months. Recently, the ERC approved another FOUR BILLION PESO recovery package for Meralco. With generation costs expecting to increase due to the stupid war in the Persian Gulf, and (I promised I’d make the AI connection) the government’s push for more energy-intensive data centers in the country, things are just going to get worse, way worse. (I would’ve been less annoyed if I knew that all these profits were shared fairly with Meralco employees but that’s a topic for another day.)

Yes, we absolutely should be doing our own part in reducing our household energy consumption. But the government should also heavily scrutinize distribution utilities (like Meralco), NGCP, and the power generation companies. Maybe it’s high time we revisit EPIRA law, which has disastrously failed its goal of lowering energy prices, and even reconsider nuclear energy. We already have the third highest electricity rates in the whole of Asia, and from the looks of it, we’re gunning for the top spot.

What do you think? Is Meralco getting away with robbery? What’s the situation in your country? Let me know on the comments!

Thanks for reading all the way through. Until next time!

See you soon,

Rem (Kuya Dev)

Host, AI Guardrail Podcast

I’m back after a month away from the podcast, as life got pretty hectic lately. But I’m excited to share what I’ve been thinking about, especially regarding a topic that sparked some interesting conversations on social media.

In this episode, I dive deep into a claim that’s been on my mind: vibe coding is fundamentally probabilistic, while traditional programming is deterministic. And no, before you think I’m against AI-assisted development—I’m not. What I want to do is help you understand the crucial difference between these approaches so you can make informed decisions about how to use them responsibly.

We’ll walk through what probabilistic and deterministic systems actually mean, examine how they apply to both vibe coding and manual code writing, and explore what that trade-off really costs you. I also share some personal updates about streamlining my machine learning workflow for graduate school.

Whether you agree with my take or not, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment them down below!

Episode Timestamps:

- 0:00 — Introduction and update on my MSc in Responsible AI journey

- 6:55 — Main topic introduction: Vibe coding vs. traditional programming

- 8:08 — Defining probabilistic vs. deterministic systems

- 10:59 — How this applies to vibe coding

- 12:31 — How this applies to traditional programming

- 16:40 — Why people think traditional programming is probabilistic

- 20:24 — The accountability question and trade-offs

- 21:14 — Wrapping up the core argument

Thanks so much for tuning in—it means a lot to have you here. If this resonates with you, I’d really appreciate a like or share to help this conversation reach more people who care about responsible AI development.

Looking forward to hearing your perspective in the comments, and I’ll catch you on the next episode.

See you soon,

Rem (Kuya Dev)

Host, AI Guardrail Podcast

I’m thrilled to share that I’ve officially become a certified AI Governance Professional (AIGP)!

In this episode, I walk you through my entire certification journey: why I pursued it, how I prepared, what makes the exam so challenging, and concrete tips if you’re thinking about taking it yourself.

Beyond the certification, I also dive into updates from my master’s program in responsible AI—including a fascinating session on real-time language translation from a Google engineer—and share my critical take on the latest open-source AI agent hype (Moltbot/OpenClaw).

Episode Highlights & Timestamps:

- 0:00 – Introduction and my AIGP certification announcement

- 7:20 – Graduate school updates: Computer vision, NLP, and learning from industry experts

- 12:00 – The Moltbot phenomenon: Why the hype doesn’t match reality

- 17:30 – Why I pursued AIGP certification (and why it matters beyond lawyers)

- 28:30 – The exam structure, difficulty, and why practice exams are essential

- 32:00 – Does the certification make you an expert?

- 35:40 – My top tips for aspiring AIGP candidates

- 40:30 – Who needs this certification and why governance bridges the gap between tech and law

Like I promised here are resources to help you (these are NOT affiliate links):

• IAPP AIGP Certification (Purchase)

• AIGP Body of Knowledge (version 2.1, 2026)

• AIGP Study Guide

• IAPP Memberships

• Official AIGP Practice Exam

• Dr. Kyle’s AIGP Masterclass on his website

• Dr. Kyle’s AIGP Masterclass on Udemy (just purchase it from his website instead)

• Official IAPP AIGP Online Training

AI governance isn’t just for lawyers—it’s for engineers, product managers, and anyone building AI systems. This certification grounded me in the legal frameworks that actually constrain what’s possible, and that’s invaluable knowledge for anyone serious about responsible AI.

If you’re exploring AI, AI governance or AI ethics professionally or out of curiosity, I genuinely believe the AIGP path is also worth considering.

Thanks for being part of the AI Guardrail community. Your support means everything.

See you in the next one,

Rem “Kuya Dev” Lampa

P.S. If you have questions about the certification or want to discuss responsible AI, drop a comment or reach out. I’m always happy to talk shop.

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I’m diving into three significant actions the Philippine Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has taken recently, and I wanted to unpack them with you in this episode.

These aren’t simple tech decisions—they touch on governance, privacy, free speech, and the responsibility that comes with government technology initiatives.

What we discuss:

The conversation covers three main areas: the DICT’s exaggerated claims about blockchain security for the national budget, the decision to ban Grok, and a new proposal requiring social media verification for Filipino citizens. I’ll walk through why I believe some of these approaches miss the mark, not because they’re trying to solve the wrong problems, but because the solutions themselves carry risks we need to think through carefully.

I also share a bit about my current journey in my Master’s program in Responsible AI and my preparation for the AI Governance Professional exam.

Episode Timestamps:

- 00:00 – Introduction and episode overview

- 01:44 – Personal introduction and career transition story

- 05:02 – Updates on my Master’s in Responsible AI

- 08:36 – Main topic: DICT’s recent actions begin

- 09:14 – The blockchain press conference and the 101% unhackable claim

- 19:40 – What responsible communication should sound like

- 33:00 – The Grok ban and questions about implementation

- 43:13 – Social media verification proposal and privacy concerns

- 48:52 – The right to voice concerns (even without perfect solutions)

- 52:00 – Closing thoughts and call to action

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen. I know this episode ran long and touched on heavy topics—that’s partly because these issues matter, and partly because the DICT’s recent decisions have sparked important conversations across our tech community.

I don’t expect everyone to agree with me, and honestly, you don’t have to. What matters most is that we’re all thinking critically about how technology shapes our governance, our privacy, and our society.

If you found value in this episode, I’d genuinely appreciate it if you’d share it with others, leave a comment with your thoughts, or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts—whether that’s YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or here on Substack.

Looking forward to continuing this conversation with you in the next episode.

Take care, and I’ll see you next time.

—Rem “Kuya Dev” Lampa

In this episode, I discuss what motivated me to launch this podcast, tracing it back to a TEDx talk I gave in Davao where I first encountered the concept of “data colonialism.” I explore why I felt compelled to become a voice for responsible AI, particularly within the global south where these conversations are still largely absent.

The episode also features my analysis of recent remarks by AMD CEO Lisa Su about scaling AI compute 100x and her projection that 5 billion people will be using AI by 2031. I examine what these ambitious claims mean for populations in developing nations and question whether such projections account for the billions living below the poverty line. Here’s the link to her CES interview.

Throughout, I share my perspective on why we must push back against narratives that treat endless AI scaling as inevitable, and why small businesses and communities shouldn’t feel pressured to adopt technology simply for the sake of growth.

Timestamps

- 00:02 — Introduction and episode overview

- 02:34 — My TEDx talk and the genesis of this project

- 08:22 — Discovering data colonialism and AI’s hidden costs

- 14:50 — Why I’m starting this podcast now

- 22:41 — AMD CEO Lisa Su’s AI projections analyzed

- 27:55 — Who will actually use AI by 2031?

- 35:45 — Why not everything needs to scale

- 39:05 — Tech CEO bubble and the global south perspective

- 41:38 — Closing remarks

Thank you for joining me on this first episode. Whether you’re curious about AI ethics, governance, or simply want to hear a thoughtful critique of where the AI industry is heading, I hope you’ll find value here.

I’m not here to dismiss artificial intelligence, it has genuinely transformative applications. Rather, I want to ensure that as AI advances, we don’t lose sight of its human and environmental costs, and that voices from communities beyond Silicon Valley get heard.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment, share this with someone who’d appreciate the conversation, and subscribe to stay updated as we dive deeper into these critical topics.

Subscribe now

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See you in the next episode.

Cheers,

Rem “Kuya Dev” Lampa

The AI Guardrail Podcast

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A few years ago, I gave a TEDx talk in Davao City about Colonialism in the Age of AI and Big Data. Just as historical empires once grabbed land and resources, Big Tech now “explores, expands, exploits, and exterminates” using our digital lives as the raw material. We’ve moved from walled cities like Intramuros to “Data Colonies”, the smartphones in our pockets that extract our data to build wealth for an elite few, often without our consent. With the emergence of Generative AI and LLMs, the dangers of tech without guardrails brings even greater risks than ever, at a pace we’ve never seen before.

Why “The AI Guardrail Podcast” Matters Now

The AI Guardrail Podcast is part of my efforts to respond to the need for better safeguards around AI innovation and development. I’m also currently pursuing an MSc in Responsible AI and considering taking up AI Law because I believe we need a new generation of professionals who can act as bridges, able to speak both the language of code and the language of policy.

The AI Guardrail Podcast is a personal journal for:

• Engineers who want to rediscover the joy of building solutions through software by restoring tech industry’s conscience and morality.

• Business Leaders who want to navigate the evolving AI innovation and regulation landscape and their respective business risks.

• Policy Geeks who want to understand the technical reality behind AI governance frameworks like the EU AI Act, NIST, and OECD.

If you’re curious about my TEDx talk that started this journey, where I discuss “digital sweatshops,” algorithmic bias, and why AI queries consume as much water as a bottle of Evian, you can watch the talk below.

No One Has All the Answers

The AI ethics and governance space is still very much a young and emerging discipline. Like everyone else, I’m still learning and trying to make sense of where things are heading, and where things should be headed. Together, let’s try to find a way toward a more equitable digital world in the age of AI.

I’m glad you’re here for the journey. Let’s build some better guardrails.

— Rem Lampa (Kuya Dev)