President Lai Qingde, the Center, and members of the VIS Mars Robotics Research Society took a group photo at the Presidential Palace yesterday.
Photo courtesy: Presidential Palace
By Ye Yahui/Staff reporter, reported by China Central News Agency
President Lai Ching-te's government plans to allocate more than NT$40 billion (approximately US$1.26 billion) in resources next year to develop ten major artificial intelligence (AI) projects, with the goal of training at least 500,000 AI professionals by 2040.
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Lai Qingde yesterday met with the VIS Mars robotics team, which represented Taiwan in the FIRST Tech Challenge robotics competition in Türkiye in June. He appreciated the students' ability to assemble robots from discarded parts and compete in the competition even after customs seized the competition equipment.
Unable to use the original robot, team members collected discarded parts and borrowed tools from other teams to successfully assemble a replacement robot. They won four games in the preliminary round and had the highest match points of the tournament.
Lai said the students' ability to adapt to problem-solving under pressure reminded him of the fictional character McIlroy.
Captain Shang Yangrui said that the team’s biggest advantage is not the equipment, but the ability to rethink, adapt and solve problems no matter what the situation.
Lai Qingde pointed out that science and technology education and talent training are still the government's top priorities.
The government has launched the AI Talent Ark Project this year to cultivate talents through basic education, professional development and data-driven methods. This plan is combined with ten major AI projects to build a large talent pool, promote industrial smart applications, and enhance Taiwan's international competitiveness.
Shang Yangrui said that the team’s experience proves that perseverance and teamwork are more important than having perfect equipment.
The team has advanced through competitions in Hong Kong and the Netherlands, and the Turkish competition is its biggest challenge.
At the same time, Digital Development Minister Lin Yi-king pointed out that through private investment in the construction of AI computing centers, Taiwan is expected to accumulate at least 10,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) of computing power within a year, adopting a build-own-operate (BOO) model.
He emphasized that technological sovereignty does not mean that all technologies must be developed domestically.
Instead, Taiwan should focus on key technologies, especially sovereign AI and low-orbit satellite (LEO) communications.
Sovereign AI means that AI systems used in Taiwan should be able to understand Taiwan’s perspectives, society, and language. Therefore, the Ministry of Digital Development is building a sovereign AI training corpus by providing government data sets to local and international researchers.
Lin Yijing pointed out that AI computing centers should be located in Taiwan so that AI models can operate within the scope of Taiwanese regulations, and such centers have been listed as major public infrastructure to attract private investment.
He further stated that low-orbit satellite communication is also an important development direction.
Taiwan needs independent communications capabilities because undersea cables can be disrupted during conflicts or "grey zone" harassment.
Although Starlink has limited interest in Taiwan’s commercial market due to Taiwan’s strong 4G and 5G coverage, Lin Yijing believes that LEO technology is still critical to Taiwan’s technological sovereignty and national resilience.
News source: TAIPEI TIMES
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