A new government policy dubbed the “Taiwan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan 2.0” aims to increase the value of the nation’s AI industry to more than NT$250 billion (US$8.16 billion), the Executive Yuan’s Office of Science and Technology Policy said yesterday.
The policy is a continuation of the four-year “Taiwan AI Action Plan” approved in 2018, which received NT$40 billion in funding to train 33,000 people in AI-related industries and contributed to more than 48.7 percent of corporations deploying AI solutions, the office said.
The initial policy, which ran through 2021, sought to establish Taiwan as a hub of international AI innovation, and oversaw Google in 2018 announcing its Smart Taiwan Initiative, as well as Microsoft’s establishment of a research and development (R&D) center in Taiwan in 2018, the office said.
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US company Synopsys in 2020 established an AI design center in Hsinchu, it said.
The new plan, which would run from this year through 2026, would focus on fostering talent, industry development, enhancing work environments and increasing technological clout in overseas markets, the office said.
The project would go hand in hand with the “five plus two” innovative industries policy and the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, the Executive Yuan said.
The “five plus two” innovative industries refer to the “Asian Silicon Valley,” biomedical technology, green energy, robotics, defense and aviation, innovative agriculture and a circular economy.
The office said that the latest plan would examine how AI affects society, such as how jobs are changing, to better inform the government to address possible policy changes.
The government hopes to use AI technology to resolve labor shortages, address issues such as a hyper-aging society and achieve goals such as net zero greenhouse gas emissions, it said.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs would establish an AI evaluation center, which, alongside draft acts for AI regulation, would provide a legislative bases for AI usage, the office said, adding that more laws would be drafted as AI technology is implemented in other fields, such as medicine, finance and transportation.
Cross-agency meetings are being held to discuss AI-generated content and AI-related ethics, the Executive Yuan said, adding that it would present a draft AI basic act in September.
Among the issues being discussed include AI-generated content for television, that would have to abide by regulations under the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法), the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法) and the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the office said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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