A new government policy dubbed the “Taiwan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan 2.0” aims to increase the value of the nation’s AI industry to more than NT$250 billion (US$8.16 billion), the Executive Yuan’s Office of Science and Technology Policy said yesterday.

The policy is a continuation of the four-year “Taiwan AI Action Plan” approved in 2018, which received NT$40 billion in funding to train 33,000 people in AI-related industries and contributed to more than 48.7 percent of corporations deploying AI solutions, the office said.

The initial policy, which ran through 2021, sought to establish Taiwan as a hub of international AI innovation, and oversaw Google in 2018 announcing its Smart Taiwan Initiative, as well as Microsoft’s establishment of a research and development (R&D) center in Taiwan in 2018, the office said.

US company Synopsys in 2020 established an AI design center in Hsinchu, it said.

The new plan, which would run from this year through 2026, would focus on fostering talent, industry development, enhancing work environments and increasing technological clout in overseas markets, the office said.

The project would go hand in hand with the “five plus two” innovative industries policy and the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, the Executive Yuan said.

The “five plus two” innovative industries refer to the “Asian Silicon Valley,” biomedical technology, green energy, robotics, defense and aviation, innovative agriculture and a circular economy.

The office said that the latest plan would examine how AI affects society, such as how jobs are changing, to better inform the government to address possible policy changes.

The government hopes to use AI technology to resolve labor shortages, address issues such as a hyper-aging society and achieve goals such as net zero greenhouse gas emissions, it said.

The Ministry of Digital Affairs would establish an AI evaluation center, which, alongside draft acts for AI regulation, would provide a legislative bases for AI usage, the office said, adding that more laws would be drafted as AI technology is implemented in other fields, such as medicine, finance and transportation.

Cross-agency meetings are being held to discuss AI-generated content and AI-related ethics, the Executive Yuan said, adding that it would present a draft AI basic act in September.

Among the issues being discussed include AI-generated content for television, that would have to abide by regulations under the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法), the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法) and the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the office said.