MANILA, Philippines — The University of Santo Tomas is moving artificial intelligence deeper into the classroom, but the centuries-old university is making one thing clear: AI may change how professors teach, but it is not supposed to replace the professor.
UST has integrated Google’s Gemini for Education into its digital learning environment while training more than 2,000 faculty members to use generative AI for teaching, assessment and academic work.
The initiative potentially reaches a university community of roughly 46,000 students, faculty and personnel, building on UST’s years-long use of Google Workspace for Education and other campus-wide digital tools.
But behind the technology rollout is a bigger experiment now confronting universities around the world: Can schools use generative AI to make learning faster and more personalized without weakening critical thinking, academic integrity or human interaction?
For UST, the answer appears to be putting teachers — rather than the technology — in control.
More Than 2,000 UST Faculty Members Trained in AI
UST’s Educational Technology Center has trained more than 2,000 faculty members, with AI applications adapted to the requirements of individual academic disciplines instead of imposing a single approach across the university.
The program is supported by 45 e-learning specialists assigned across colleges and more than 300 Google Certified Educators, according to UST officials cited by InsiderPH.
That decentralized approach matters because using AI in Nursing is fundamentally different from using it in Architecture, Engineering or Theology.
In Nursing programs, professors are using generative AI to build realistic patient-care scenarios that allow students to practice clinical and emergency decision-making before entering hospital settings.
Architecture students and professors can use AI-assisted visualization to transform concepts into realistic designs incorporating elements of Philippine vernacular architecture.
Engineering faculty can generate visual explanations of mathematical concepts and spatial coordinates, potentially helping students understand ideas that are difficult to communicate through equations alone.
In Theology, meanwhile, students can use NotebookLM to organize and synthesize historical, theological and philosophical readings, create review materials and prepare for deeper faculty-led discussions.
That last tool is worth clarifying. Google’s official product is called NotebookLM. It allows users to work with selected source materials and turn them into study aids, summaries and other learning resources. Google has increasingly integrated NotebookLM alongside Gemini across its education products.
The Real Goal: Give Professors Their Time Back
One of UST’s most significant arguments for AI is not that it can teach instead of professors.
It is that it can handle some of the repetitive work preventing professors from spending more time with students.
Faculty members can use Gemini to assist with lesson preparation, draft rubrics, develop learning activities and produce visual teaching materials.
NotebookLM can meanwhile transform large collections of course readings into flashcards, quizzes and study resources.
UST e-learning specialist Shane Alexander Y. Laong said the tools have reduced the workload involved in processing large volumes of literature while allowing teachers and students to produce more engaging learning materials.
The philosophy closely resembles Google’s broader strategy for educational AI.
Google says its education tools are being designed around the principle of keeping educators in control. Its latest classroom features allow teachers to ground AI activities in approved course materials, create guided learning experiences and gain insight into how students interact with assigned material.
Google has also repeatedly warned users to review AI-generated material because generative AI can produce errors — an important limitation as schools increasingly incorporate it into coursework.
UST’s AI Experiment Didn’t Start Overnight
The latest Gemini rollout is part of a broader AI strategy that UST has been developing for several years.
In 2024, the university hosted an AI Summit examining competency standards, AI-assisted learning, workforce development and responsible innovation.
The university also partnered with the US-Philippines Partnership for Skills, Innovation and Lifelong Learning on a program examining AI fundamentals in higher education, including AI-assisted assessment and teaching.
By 2025, UST’s Faculty of Arts and Letters was already conducting training involving Gemini and NotebookLM.
The university had also introduced an AI policy manual governing research activities, while Arts and Letters updated thesis guidelines requiring students to disclose the use of AI in academic manuscripts.
That detail is crucial.
The debate surrounding AI in universities is no longer simply about whether students should be allowed to use ChatGPT, Gemini or similar platforms.
It is increasingly about how AI use should be disclosed, where it should be permitted and which intellectual tasks students must still perform independently.
Philippine Universities Face the Same AI Question
UST’s shift comes as the Philippine education sector accelerates its own AI transition.
In February 2026, the Commission on Higher Education convened its RAISE 2026 national summit as part of efforts to develop a broader roadmap for artificial intelligence in higher education. The initiative brought together educators, government representatives and industry participants to examine how AI could be incorporated into Philippine universities.
A 2026 study published through the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies similarly identified faculty upskilling, the digital divide and academic-integrity concerns as major challenges Philippine higher education institutions must address as AI adoption accelerates.
The trend is extending far beyond universities.
The Department of Education launched Project AGAP.AI in January 2026, accompanied by plans for large-scale AI literacy training, curriculum integration and safeguards addressing issues such as misinformation, privacy and responsible classroom use.
Google has also expanded its Philippine education push, including training and certification initiatives for educators and increasingly powerful AI tools aimed at students.
Just this month, Google began offering eligible Philippine college and university students a one-year AI Plus subscription, giving them access to AI-supported study tools and other Gemini capabilities, according to Philstar.
The result is becoming difficult for universities to ignore: AI is moving from an optional productivity tool into mainstream education infrastructure.
The Bigger Question Isn’t Whether Students Will Use AI
Students are already using it.
The harder question is whether universities can redesign education quickly enough to ensure students still learn how to think when an AI system can summarize readings, generate explanations, draft essays, build presentations and solve problems within seconds.
UST Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl Peralta has framed the university’s approach around preparing graduates who remain competent, compassionate and capable of critical thinking and problem-solving while using AI ethically and responsibly.
Google’s own education platform highlights UST as an institution seeking to make Gemini accessible while emphasizing ethical use, digital safety and future readiness.
And that may ultimately be more important than the software itself.
For universities, the AI race is not simply about putting the newest chatbot in every classroom.
It is about deciding what students should still be required to know, create and understand without one.
UST is betting that the answer is not to ban artificial intelligence — but to redesign teaching around it while keeping educators, human judgment and academic responsibility at the center.
Whether that balance holds as AI becomes dramatically more capable may be the real test still ahead.
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