Quanta Computer founder Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday received the Ministry of Science and Technology’s First Class Science and Technology Profession Medal for his work in developing artificial intelligence (AI).
Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said Lam was its first awardee after creating the system of gold, silver and bronze medals in July last year to honor people who have made outstanding contributions to science and technology.
Lam was chosen as he is a “missionary” for AI technology, the development of which is one of the ministry’s key policies, Chen said at the award ceremony at the ministry in Taipei.
Although some academics have criticized Chen for putting excessive emphasis on AI development over other branches of science, Chen said that developing AI could help sharpen core abilities across disciplines.
Academia Sinica academician and data scientist Kung Hsiang-Tsung (孔祥重) and Synopsys president Chan Chi-foon (陳志寬) are the other two recipients of a gold medal, the ministry said, adding that it is to hold their award ceremonies at a later date.
Quanta, along with Taiwan Mobile and Asustek Computer, is one of the ministry’s partners in developing the Taiwan Computing Cloud platform, which began commercial operations in October and is managed by the National Center for High-performance Computing.
Lam said that he was excited when Chen invited him to help develop the cloud platform, whose technical requirements, including adopting liquid cooling facilities, were stricter than other nations’ efforts.
Quanta was formed in 1988 to manufacture computers and related components, but new challenges and opportunities are pushing it to switch to an information and knowledge-based business by taking advantage of AI tools, Lam said.
Developing user-centric solutions in smart medicine, smart transportation, smart manufacturing, smart agriculture and smart entertainment is the company’s strategy to “reinvent” itself, he said.
It established the Quanta Medicine and Technology Foundation earlier this year in a bid to develop AI infrastructure for hospitals and precision medicine for everyone, he added.
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