The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is planning measures to cultivate 200,000 people with artificial intelligence (AI) skills, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the AI EXPO Taiwan exhibition in Taipei, Kuo said AI talent is key to economic and industrial development, and to integrating AI into Taiwan’s industrial transformation.
The ministry is planning tax incentives, encouraging industry-academic cooperation and competitions attractive to younger generations to encourage the spawning of AI talent, he said.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
Small and medium-sized enterprises, which make up 98 percent of Taiwan’s businesses, might have a hard time implementing AI because of their relatively small sizes, Kuo said.
Therefore, institutions such as the Metal Industries Research and Development Center (金屬工業研究發展中心) would establish AI demonstration sites to assist businesses in different sectors in introducing AI applications, he said.
According to forecasts from research institutions, the generative AI market would grow from US$40 billion last year to US$1.5 trillion in 2030, Kuo said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-jing (林宜敬) said the Ministry of Digital Affairs would collaborate with the MOEA, the National Development Council (NDC) and the National Science and Technology Council to train AI talent on applying current AI tools, running training models, and doing basic research and development.
While AI would change the world, its innovation and development should come from open competition in the private sector rather than from a domineering government, Lin said.
The government could support it by using tools such as computing power, data, talent, marketing and funding to create an environment to develop AI, he said.
It could also provide free computing power to start-ups and encourage ministries to release government data for start-ups to train AI models, he said.
In addition, the ministry would organize meetings with potential clients for local businesses, try to drum up orders for Taiwanese AI start-ups and create stable revenues, Lin said.
The ministry has secured NT$10 billion (US$302.14 million) in funding from the NDC to invest in the AI industry over the next 10 years, he said.
AI EXPO Taiwan is being held from yesterday until tomorrow at the Taipei Expo Park with the theme “Surfing the AI Waves.”
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