President Tsai Ing-wen revealed that the government is committed to advancing Taiwan’s smart machinery sector through expanded public-private cooperation. He made the remarks in In the presence of Sandra Oudkirk, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director.
Smart manufacturing is a combination of key information and communications technologies. It rolls ICT, precision machinery and other strategic industries into one. All these innovative solutions remain a cornerstone of the government’s approach to transforming Taiwan into a provider of smart manufacturing solutions, Tsai said.
The government is sparing no effort in strengthening its economic competitiveness, Tsai added. This is evidenced by the country’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The free trade agreement is one of the biggest as the 11 original country signatories have a global gross domestic product approximated at US$ 13.5 trillion. In effect, it makes the CPTPP one of the world’s largest free-trade areas by GDP, in the ikes of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, the European Single Market and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. While Taiwan is currently applying for the CPTPP, the original members include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Tsai made the remarks at the opening ceremony of a machine tool trade show that was co-organised by Taipei City-based Taiwan External Trade Development Council and the private sector. According to her, many CPTPP members rely on Taiwan-made machinery and machine tools. Entering the trade bloc will help the country overcome trade barriers, she explained.
The country’s leader disclosed that the machinery industry is a key driving force for Taiwan’s economic growth. The country’s machinery exports grew 27% to reach a record high of US$ 27.8 billion last year, she added. Tsai also took the opportunity to thank industry leaders for their dedication to advancing machine-related sectors and demonstrating Taiwan’s manufacturing prowess to the world.
Smart machines are a key driver of Industry 4.0. Smart manufacturing can combine the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Smart assets can be attributed to different levels of intelligent functionality. That can range from simple sensing-and-actuating to control or optimisation, not to mention full autonomous operation. To a large degree, smart machines operate in a larger system. Edge computing, for instance, allows these machines to factor in analytics right then and there making the most of the data value acquired.
Digital adoption is moving Taiwan’s economy forward and is taking place in st every sector of its society. Just recently, it launched a digital submission system for its new medical device applications. That has certainly given businesses a faster way to transact.
While digital technology offers seemingly endless possibilities, there are drawbacks that need to be looked into. One of these, of course, is the case for abuse. Though a lot of people can benefit from technology, some people want to use the same technology for crime. A good example here is the use of AI Deepfakes. It’s powerful but Deepfaces are prone to abuses online, reason enough why Taiwan had it regulated recently, as reported on OpenGov Asia.
