The eighth annual DevDays Asia 2023, guided by the Ministry of Digital Affairs and co-organized by the Administration for Digital Industries in collaboration with Microsoft Taiwan, kicked off on September 11th. This year's event once again spans across the north and south of Taiwan, expanding its scale from September 11th (Mon) to September 13th (Wed) at the Nangang Exhibition Center, and continuing on September 15th (Fri) at the Grand Hyatt Kaohsiung. The theme for this year is "Leading the Future: Empowering Agile and Innovative Transformation with AI." The agenda closely aligns with cutting-edge technologies like Generative AI, which has captured the attention of developers. Over 2,000 people registered, setting a new record. To embrace innovative AI applications and infuse international leading technological resources, aiming to empower local talents in grasping the crucial points of intelligent transformation and digital trust.

Vice Premier of the Executive Yuan, Cheng Wen-Tsan, attended the DevDays Asia 2023 event to show his support. He emphasized that this event, is the sole event hosted by Microsoft in Asia where top global technical experts and development professionals gather. The event highlights the recognition of Taiwan's industry and talent potential internationally. Faced with Taiwan's unstoppable trend towards intelligent transformation in enterprises, Cheng Wen-Tsan further pointed out the importance of using AI to drive industrial upgrades and enhance social well-being. He underscored that the deepening and innovation of AI technology are vital policy directions for Taiwan's development as an intelligent nation. This year, the Executive Yuan issued the "Taiwan AI Action Plan 2.0," outlining five major tasks: Talent Cultivation, Technological Advancement, Industrial Development, Evaluation and Verification, and Addressing Humanities and Society Issues. This plan is set to drive the next stage of Taiwan's AI industry. In August, the Executive Yuan also released the "Reference Guidelines for the Use of Generative AI by Executive Yuan and Its Affiliated Agencies and Organizations," prompting public sectors to consider how to utilize generative AI to safely assist in their official duties. The Vice Premier also commended the impressive content of DevDays Asia 2023 this year and the live demonstrations of AI achievements by industry players. He stated, "In the future, we will continue to invest resources and collaborate with international industry partners to enhance digital talent competitiveness, establish a secure digital nation, and make Taiwan the epicenter of digital transformation in Asia."

As one of the core units driving digital development in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of the Administration for Digital Industries, Lee Huai-Jen, stated that the ministry will actively facilitate the integration of digital technology with the Taiwanese people. This aims to realize the vision of "industrial AI-ization" and "AI industrialization", leading the industry into the era of AI 2.0. While promoting AI's widespread application and development, Lee Huai-Jen also emphasized, "In the era of AI, the urgency of collaborative cybersecurity is undeniable. The Ministry of Digital Affairs will continuously advocate for relevant policies, connect cutting-edge technological resources, enhance local cybersecurity capabilities, and collaboratively create AI applications that meet the demands of democracy."

Microsoft's Azure OpenAI services have been successfully applied in various fields in Taiwan over the past nine months. In response, the General Manager of Microsoft Taiwan, Sean Pien, stated, "We have witnessed the implementation of Azure OpenAI services in manufacturing, healthcare, government, education, retail, and other sectors in Taiwan. This showcases the proactive embrace of generative AI and abundant innovative capabilities within the Taiwanese industry. Generative AI will accelerate industrial digital transformation, propelling Taiwan to become a global leader in digital innovation over the next decade. Microsoft will continue to infuse international technological resources and work hand in hand with the government, customers, and partners to forge ahead".

DevDays Asia 2023 has gathered experts from Microsoft headquarters and worldwide to deliver diverse presentations covering various aspects of AI. These include technical talks, workshops, and hands-on lab sessions aimed at sharing the integrating AI with cross-platform applications. Additionally, this year introduces a special "Developer Lounge" where developers can engage in in-depth discussions with Microsoft's technical experts. Beyond the engaging conference program, participants from the Ministry of Digital Affairs's AI program and those mentored by Microsoft showcase a range of emerging applications developed in collaboration with Taiwan Microsoft. This includes 15 startups and companies like Accuhit, Intumit, ShowHue, ART Solutions, Asiabots, SoftwareOne, and Avilon, spanning AI, cloud, and commercial software solutions. Together, they witness the blossoming of intelligent applications across the region.

Through the "AI Application Service Development Environment Promotion Program", the Administration for Digital Industries, moda, collaborates with Taiwan Microsoft to promote business guidance programs. The program includes hosting forums and technical exchange activities focused on generative AI. These initiatives are showcased at various exhibitions, such as DevDays Asia 2023 and the Microsoft Generative AI Forum, providing opportunities for businesses to engage with the international market. Over the past two years, this collaboration has facilitated partnerships between companies and international clients, resulting in over 1.5 billion New Taiwan Dollars in overseas opportunities. As of now, Azure OpenAI services have been implemented in twelve industries in Taiwan, leading to over two hundred solutions deployed. Over the next year, it is expected to generate an estimated 680 million New Taiwan Dollars in benefits for the industry, driving the overall ecosystem's vigorous development. This will aid local enterprises and startups in their growth, enabling them to integrate with the global market and promoting the internationalization of the AI industry.

For more exciting event schedules, please visit the event website:
https://www.digitimes.com.tw/seminar/DevDaysAsia2023/agenda.html