Taipei, March 26 (CNA) The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is planning measures to cultivate 200,000 people with artificial intelligence (AI) skills, the agency’s head Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝) said Wednesday.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the AI EXPO Taiwan 2025 in Taipei, Kuo said AI talent is key to economic and industrial development and to integrating AI into Taiwan’s industrial transformation.
He said the ministry is planning tax incentives, the encouragement of industry-academic cooperation, and competitions attractive to the younger generation to encourage the spawning of AI talent.
Small and medium-scale enterprises, which make up 98 percent of Taiwan’s businesses, may have a hard time implementing AI because of their relatively small sizes, Kuo said.
Therefore, institutions such as the Metal Industries Research and Development Center will establish AI application demonstration sites to assist businesses in different sectors in introducing AI applications, Kuo said.
According to forecasts from research institutions, the generative AI market will grow from US$40 billion in 2024 to US$1.5 trillion in 2030, Kuo said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Digital Affairs Minister Lin Yi-jing (林宜敬) said his ministry will collaborate with the MOEA, the National Development Council (NDC) and the National Science and Technology Council to train AI talent on applying current AI tools, running training models, and doing basic research and development.
Lin said that while AI will change the world, its innovation and development should come from open competition in the private sector rather than from a domineering government.
The government can support that effort by using tools such as computing power, data, talent, marketing and funding to create an environment to develop AI, he said.
It can also provide free computing power to startups and encourage ministries to release government data for startups to train AI models, he said.
In addition, Lin said, the ministry will organize meetings with potential clients for local businesses, try to drum up orders for Taiwanese AI startups, and create stable revenues.
The ministry has secured NT$10 billion (US$302.19 million) in funding from the NDC and will invest the money into the AI industry over the next 10 years, he said.
The AI EXPO Taiwan 2025 is being held from March 26 to 28 at the Taipei Expo Park, and its theme is “Surfing the AI Waves.”
