Taiwan Premier Chairs First AI Strategy Committee Meeting, Unveils Roadmap for Sovereign AI

Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai, who is spearheading the nation's push to become an AI powerhouse, has unveiled a roadmap for building "Sovereign AI."

According to Taiwanese media outlets including the United Daily News and China Times on Wednesday, June 24, Premier Cho received a briefing on the draft of the "National AI Development Guidelines" from the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) during the inaugural meeting of the "National AI Strategy Committee" held the previous day.

At the meeting, Premier Cho stated that the government would actively build Sovereign AI. He expressed his vision for Taiwan to evolve beyond its status as a manufacturing powerhouse supporting global innovation, transforming into an "ideal model country for AI applications" based on the values of freedom and democracy.

He described the vision for Sovereign AI development as "building a safe, reliable, and responsible AI ecosystem based on local data and the values of liberal democracy."

Accordingly, the plan is to begin implementation in four key areas—education, healthcare, finance, and the judiciary—and gradually expand the scope to include a "smart living sphere for all citizens" and all industrial sectors.

Premier Cho emphasized that the government will promote "Responsible AI" based on seven core principles: sustainable development and welfare, human autonomy, privacy protection and data governance, cybersecurity and safety, transparency and explainability, fairness and non-discrimination, and accountability.

He further announced plans to build "new infrastructure" for software, hardware, and application services necessary to realize the Sovereign AI vision.

Premier Cho also noted that he and Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan will serve as the convener and deputy convener of the committee, respectively. In addition to heads of government ministries, the committee includes members from academia, research, and industry, such as Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an of the opposition Kuomintang and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

Earlier this year, President Lai Ching-te stated that this would be a pivotal year for Taiwan to move toward "smart prosperity," adding that the country is actively engaged in research and development (R&D) for three core technologies: silicon photonics, quantum science and technology, and robotics.

At the time, President Lai announced that the government would invest more than 100 billion New Taiwan dollars (approximately 4.8 trillion KRW) to generate an economic impact of 15 trillion New Taiwan dollars (approximately 720.7 trillion KRW) by 2040 and foster 500,000 AI professionals.

(Photo: Capture from Taiwan Executive Yuan, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.