In keeping with President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of transforming Taiwan into an “artificial intelligence [AI] island,” the Executive Yuan has pushed forward a new “10 major AI infrastructure projects” program, which is expected to be introduced in the second half of the year.
The plan is being discussed and formulated by the National Development Council (NDC) and the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC).
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on May 20 said the government is mulling a “10 major AI infrastructure projects” program, combining innovative research-and-development with partially physical infrastructure, and that the Cabinet would propose a comprehensive plan as soon as possible to transform Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
The NSTC yesterday said the program encompasses four emerging technologies — intelligent robots, quantum technology, silicon photonics and “sovereign AI.”
The “smart robot program” approved by the Executive Yuan last month is one of the key items of the new program.
The program aims to cultivate start-up robot companies with system development capabilities, expand the domestic output value of smart robots from NT$4 billion (US$134 million) to NT$50 billion within five years for professional service robots and establish a comprehensive supply chain and industrial ecosystem.
The NSTC said the industrial development of silicon photonics technology is already in full swing, and the government would introduce policies to further support its development.
The council also encourages academics to study high-speed, low-power optical connections through heterogeneous integration, which can be applied to critical fields such as AI chip connection and high-speed computing.
QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY
The NSTC has also established a national quantum technology team and is integrating research facilities and industry through a dedicated “quantum technology industrial platform.”
A Thematic Center for Quantum Computer and a Quantum Photonics Research Project have been established at Academia Sinica’s Southern Campus, and the construction of a quantum experiment building is expected to be finished in 2028, it said.
The new program would also encompass six major infrastructure programs, including AI supercomputers and hyperscale data centers.
US chipmaker Nvidia Corp last month announced that it would team up with the NSTC, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to build an AI supercomputer in Taiwan.
The government is also building supercomputers in Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City in Tainan’s Shalun District (沙崙) and Hsinchu Science Park, with additional facilities planned for central and northern Taiwan.
The government’s supercomputer is expected to reach 480 petaflops (480 quadrillion floating-point operations per second) by 2029, and along with the computing power of private sectors, they are expected to reach a total of 1.2 exaflops, the NSTC said.
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
MATAIAN RIVER: Rescue operations were ongoing, with officials urging residents to move to higher floors where possible as teams focus first on those at ground level Floodwaters from the overflowing Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake swept into Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) yesterday afternoon, leaving hundreds of people trapped and three missing as of press time last night, the Hualien County Fire Bureau said. The waters surged into downtown Guangfu after the riverbank burst at about 2:50pm, carrying mud and debris and submerging streets to rooftop level in some areas. Residents were seen climbing onto vehicles and rooftops to await rescue as thick, silt-laden water inundated the town. The surge destroyed the Mataian Bridge (馬太鞍溪橋) and flooded the Guangfu Railway Station. Rescue operations were launched with support from fire departments
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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