Taiwan must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to keep abreast of the next technological leap toward automation, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said at the luanch ceremony of Taiwan AI and Robots Alliance yesterday.
The world is on the cusp of a new industrial revolution centered on AI and robotics, which would likely lead to a thorough transformation of human society, she told an event marking the establishment of a national AI and robotics alliance in Taipei.
The arrival of the next industrial revolution could be a matter of years, she said.
Photo: Lin Jing-hua, Taipei Times
The pace of automation in the global economy can be gauged by Jeff Bezos’ announcement that robots now outnumber the human workforce of Amazon Technologies Inc, she added.
Robots would reduce the number of jobs in an economy, but also improve people’s quality of life and working conditions by taking over the most dangerous or difficult tasks, Hsiao said.
The government is investing in AI to encourage balanced economic development and maintain Taiwan’s technological edge, which has significant national security implications, she said.
The government’s initiatives to kick-start robotics had setbacks and is sure to have more of them in the coming years, as mistakes are the inevitable cost of making progress in any endeavor, she added.
“We must tolerate failure and find solutions when we fail for the nation to go forward,” Hsiao said.
The government’s role in the nation’s bid to develop AI and robotics is to create an appropriate regulatory environment, provide subsidies for introducing robots into various sectors, forge international partnerships, and integrate research-and-development efforts, she said.
The Taiwan AI and robotics alliance was set up by six industry groups, including the Taiwan Automation and Intelligence Robotics Association.
The alliance’s goal is to achieve more than NT$1 trillion (US$33.95 billion) in production output value by 2030, and has plans to develop autonomous vehicles, robot walkers, humanoid robots and “special application platforms,” the association said.
Taiwan specializes in the development of technological elements used in robotics production, such as controllers, sensors, chips and machinery, while also providing integrated system solutions, and developing AI computing capabilities and smart software, it said.
These strengths should help Taiwan set up an AI robotics ecosystem and develop AI robotics technologies up to international standards to help Taiwanese products become competitive in the global market, it added.
The ambitious plans would require Taiwanese industry to cooperate in forging self-sufficient supply chains for decisionmaking algorithms, drive controls, sensor suites and power plants, the association said.
The alliance would focus on introducing robotic products to eight major sectors — medicine, logistics, agriculture, manufacturing, long-term care, food, disaster relief and rovers — it added.
The other groups in the alliance are the Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders’ Association, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry, the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association, the Taipei Computer Association, and the Cloud Computing and IoT Association in Taiwan.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS