With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, developing sovereign AI has become an important issue for many countries to protect their digital sovereignty.
A country needs to independently develop and control AI technology and infrastructure to avoid relying on foreign technology and ensure that their economy, culture and society are free from foreign influence.
With the rise of China’s AI capabilities, Taiwan must be prudent and develop its own sovereign AI to ensure national security and technological autonomy.
In Taiwan, although there is a Chinese-language version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, using it comes with some problems.
Due to disparities in size, population and the amount of materials online between Taiwan and China, only a small proportion of data used to train ChatGPT’s Chinese-language AI model is from Taiwan.
As a result, the tone, terms and cultural background of ChatGPT’s Chinese-language AI model are more like the language used in China.
For example, for the word meaning “lean,” ChatGPT’s Chinese-language version uses the word used in China, “jingyi” (精益), rather than the word used in Taiwan, “jingshi” (精實).
For “digital transformation,” it uses China’s “shuzi zhuanxing” (數字轉型), rather than Taiwan’s “shuweizhuanxing” (數位轉型).
For “sustainable development,” it uses China’s “kechixu fazhan” (可持續發展), rather than Taiwan’s “yongxu fazhan” (永續發展).
For “through,” it uses China’s “tongguo” (通過), rather than Taiwan’s “xiuguo” (透過).
These subtle differences could gradually influence the language spoken in Taiwan, which could eventually shape people’s views and cultural preferences.
China has developed its own AI in recent years, launching large language models (LLMs) such as Ernie Bot (文心一言).
If Taiwanese begin using such products on a large scale, China would not only be able to shape their thinking patterns, but also influence Taiwan’s society, culture and values.
Such cultural infiltration would pose a threat to the nation’s digital sovereignty and likely damage its democratic resilience.
To defend its digital sovereignty, Taiwan must begin developing its own AI technology and infrastructure. The Trustworthy AI Dialogue Engine (TAIDE) led by the National Science and Technology Council is an important start.
Based on Meta’s open-source language model Llama 3, TAIDE is trained with traditional Chinese language data, giving TAIDE local language advantages when processing Traditional Chinese conversations.
Through this move, Taiwan can avoid the erosion of its language and culture by foreign technologies and provide AI services more in line with local needs.
However, there are still deficiencies with the model training data and scale of TAIDE. More localized data is needed to improve its understanding and communication capabilities.
Many countries are developing their own sovereign AI, including France and the UK, which have invested resources into developing AI that reflects their language and culture.
France’s Mistral AI and the UK’s BritGPT are typical examples. Likewise, Singapore is partnering with Nvidia Corp to develop the SEA-LION LLM model specifically designed for Southeast Asian languages and cultures, demonstrating the importance of sovereign AI.
The role of government cannot be ignored. Government can lead the development of AI through the digitization of public services. Singapore’s Pair project, which uses generative AI to reduce the workload of civil servants and ensure data security, is a successful case that Taiwan can learn from.
Taiwan should boldly experiment with and implement AI technology to improve the efficiency of its public services and aid the development of the TAIDE.
This would help the nation maintain its autonomy and resist the impact of foreign technologies on its culture and society.
Liao Ming-hui is an assistant researcher at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
The EU’s biggest banks have spent years quietly creating a new way to pay that could finally allow customers to ditch their Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc cards — the latest sign that the region is looking to dislodge two of the most valuable financial firms on the planet. Wero, as the project is known, is now rolling out across much of western Europe. Backed by 16 major banks and payment processors including BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG and Worldline SA, the platform would eventually allow a German customer to instantly settle up with, say, a hotel in France
On August 6, Ukraine crossed its northeastern border and invaded the Russian region of Kursk. After spending more than two years seeking to oust Russian forces from its own territory, Kiev turned the tables on Moscow. Vladimir Putin seemed thrown off guard. In a televised meeting about the incursion, Putin came across as patently not in control of events. The reasons for the Ukrainian offensive remain unclear. It could be an attempt to wear away at the morale of both Russia’s military and its populace, and to boost morale in Ukraine; to undermine popular and elite confidence in Putin’s rule; to
A traffic accident in Taichung — a city bus on Sept. 22 hit two Tunghai University students on a pedestrian crossing, killing one and injuring the other — has once again brought up the issue of Taiwan being a “living hell for pedestrians” and large vehicle safety to public attention. A deadly traffic accident in Taichung on Dec. 27, 2022, when a city bus hit a foreign national, his Taiwanese wife and their one-year-old son in a stroller on a pedestrian crossing, killing the wife and son, had shocked the public, leading to discussions and traffic law amendments. However, just after the
With escalating US-China competition and mutual distrust, the trend of supply chain “friend shoring” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fragmentation of the world into rival geopolitical blocs, many analysts and policymakers worry the world is retreating into a new cold war — a world of trade bifurcation, protectionism and deglobalization. The world is in a new cold war, said Robin Niblett, former director of the London-based think tank Chatham House. Niblett said he sees the US and China slowly reaching a modus vivendi, but it might take time. The two great powers appear to be “reversing carefully