Pax Silica was everywhere in mid-2026: in the news, in group chats and across social media. Reactions ranged from excitement to suspicion to plain confusion: wait, what is this, actually?
So GOAB did what we always do: we brought the community together for an honest conversation, as part of GOAB Learns, an interactive online working room by the GOAB Beach Club in partnership with the Philippine AI Report.
Background
Pax Silica is a global initiative between the US and partner nations to build secure economic zones and resilient supply chains for AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and semiconductors.
Three questions
To make the most of 60 minutes, we focused on:
- Does the Philippines need its own data center, and why?
- What is sovereign AI?
- What opportunities, or questions, does Pax Silica raise for Philippine tech startups and builders?
We were upfront: we're not Pax Silica insiders or policymakers. The goal was to demystify it and weigh the opportunities alongside the risks, so the community can show up informed, not just reactive.
The format: a silent reading room
Inspired by Amazon's meeting culture, we opened with 10 minutes of quiet reading of a short, curated baseline document, so everyone entered the discussion with the same context. Then came a guided discussion and an open community Q&A.
The guests
- Tim Santos leads PhilippineAIReport.com and has 16+ years of experience bridging AI research and real-world applications. He's known for translating complex tech trends into plain, actionable insights.
- Paul Pajo is an innovation advocate, super-connector and long-time GOAB instigator who'd been discussing Pax Silica in group chats since day one. He is a Certified Claude Architect and Director of the Technology Business Incubator at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
Hosted by Tina Amper for the GOAB Beach Club. #GrowTogether
Catch the next one. This October we're going deeper with live, production-level AI Engineering Masterclasses. Want every session, year-round? Join the GOAB Beach Club. Questions? Email hello@geeksonabeach.com.
Original event page: luma.com/GOABS20
