The Economist Impact hosted its first AI Innovation Asia 2024 forum in Singapore, featuring opening remarks by Singapore's Minister of Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo. Taiwan's Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, Ning Yeh, and Assistant Vice Minister of the Ministry for Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) of Japan, Yoichi Iida, were invited to deliver keynote speeches on AI development trends and governance strategies in Taiwan and Japan.

Deputy Minister Yeh, speaking on "How is Taiwan Approaching AI Regulations," emphasized the importance of balancing innovation with responsibility amidst the generative AI wave. Taiwan is committed to establishing context-specific legal frameworks tailored to AI use cases, focusing on high-risk cases. To achieve this, cross-ministerial collaboration is essential. In 2023, the Executive Yuan established a Digital Policy and Legal Coordination Task Force to facilitate interdepartmental policy and legal discussions, concentrating on artificial intelligence, data innovation, personal data protection, and digital service application. The task force determined fundamental AI legislative principles: "guidelines first, legislation second," "domain rules first, general rules second," and "Government first, industries second." The National Science and Technology Council has also drafted the Artificial Intelligence Fundamental Act, serving as Taiwan's blueprint for AI development. The draft empowers the MODA to establish frameworks for AI risk classification, assessment mechanisms, and data innovation circulation as foundational elements for AI legislation. Attendees were notably impressed and largely concurred with Taiwan's approach to AI governance, moving from flexible guidelines to legislation and prioritizing government readiness before extending to industry regulations.

MODA also engaged in discussions with international data centers, cloud service providers, and satellite technology companies operating in Singapore. Topics included cloud technology, data exchange, redundancy mechanisms, and successful strategies in subsea cable planning and maintenance shared by Singaporean telecom operators. Observing Singapore's role as a communications hub in Southeast Asia provided valuable insights for Taiwan's future digital industry development. MODA hopes these in-depth dialogues will lead to closer collaborations.

The Ministry of Digital Affairs reaffirmed its commitment to advancing AI development policies, strengthening international alignment, and actively participating in global exchanges. By maintaining strong connections with leading global enterprises, Taiwan aims to co-create a convenient, intelligent, and secure digital society. It also seeks to showcase Taiwan's achievements on the international stage, contributing its experience to the global society.