Taiwan is investing NT$65 million (US$1.98 million) to build shared computing resources for eligible Taiwanese artificial intelligence (AI) developers, Minister of Digital Affairs Huang Yen-nun (黃彥男) said yesterday.
AI technology is important for the nation’s economic future, but the cost of computers and technical personnel poses formidable barriers to small and medium enterprises interested in entering the field, he said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times).
The ministry’s “computing pool” program is aimed at this problem by offering computational power to enterprises that lack the resources to test ideas and promising concepts, Huang said.
Photo: Hsu Tzu-ling, Taipei Times
The platform is made of five Supermicro servers equipped with 32 Nvidia H100 and eight AMD M1300X processors to enable high-speed computations, he said, adding that the system would begin accepting applications before Aug. 13.
The ministry expects to approve 60 Taiwanese enterprises to have access to the computing resources, with each permitted to use the processors for six weeks at a time, he said.
Furnishing government-backed servers to support private-sector innovation would make research and development more efficient, boosting the Taiwanese technology sector’s competitiveness, he said.
Interested enterprises should apply for the use of the computing resources with the Administration of Digital Industries, but be aware that priority is given to companies younger than eight years, he said.
The computing platform cannot be used for cryptocurrency mining or training another model via an application programming interface, Huang said.
Separately, the ministry has obtained the legislature’s authorization to use NT$10 billion from the National Development Fund to invest in innovations in AI technology, Huang said.
Details about the application process for corporate partners and eligibility would be announced next month, he said.
Meanwhile, the ministry has met with representatives from companies owning popular platforms including Google, Meta and Line to discuss measures to fight Internet-based fraud, Huang said, adding that they broadly agreed to the government’s requests.
These demands include a commitment to more speedy takedowns of scammer advertisements and a specific pledge from Meta to verify the identity of all advertisers on its platforms to root out impersonators, he said.
The ministry is eyeing the creation of a dedicated committee to counter disinformation as a more credible alternative to empowering a government apparatus to decide the authenticity of information by itself, he said.
The committee would be authorized to evaluate the truthfulness of content and order erroneous or harmful information to be removed from social media platforms, Huang said.
In addition, the legislature has passed the third reading of a slew of amendments on laws regarding fraud that affect the ministry, he said.
These new laws would require online-based advertisement platforms to have a physical office or a person in charge in Taiwan, disclose their identity in business dealings and they would be obligated to comply with government anti-fraud measures, Huang said.
Failure to comply with that obligation could result in a repeatable maximum fine of NT$100 million, a sum capable of exerting real pressure on private sector companies, he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as