Beyond sparking a scientific and technological revolution, artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally transform human life and industry and create boundless business opportunities. Capitalizing on this wave, the government rolled out the AI Taiwan Action Plan (2018-2021) on January 18, 2018 to sharpen Taiwan's advantages, prioritize innovation and real-world implementation, and develop software and hardware in tandem, thereby injecting greater momentum into Taiwan's industries. Efforts to build AI into a comprehensive industry will be guided by the principles of deregulation, open access and technology investment, all with the aim of propelling Taiwan into the ranks of the world's leading smart nations.
Five major components
■ Developing AI talent: Smart-tech researchers for senior-level positions are being trained by universities and research institutes, while more than 10,000 AI technicians and applications specialists are produced each year.
■ Promoting Taiwan's lead role in AI: Chips, which form the heart of AI computing, are not only a core technology but an industrial strength for Taiwan. The government is therefore working aggressively to expand the nation's world-leading position in the semiconductor chip industry.
■ Building Taiwan into an AI innovation hub: As international AI innovation clusters are formed in Taiwan, Microsoft, Google and other big names have set up AI R&D bases on the island, building connections with the local AI industry and creating an industrial ecosystem together for Taiwan.
■ Liberalizing laws and opening test grounds: To ease restrictions on innovative technologies, Taiwan announced the Unmanned Vehicles Technology Innovative Experimentation Act, the first of its kind in the world covering autonomous vehicles on land, at sea, and in the air. Taiwan CAR (Connected, Autonomous, Road-test) Lab, the nation's first closed field for testing self-driving cars, has also been opened for use.
■ Transforming industry with AI: Guided by the demands of industrial innovation, AI talent will be matched to industrial needs to develop AI solutions and accelerate industrial innovation and digital transformation.