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Taipei, Nov. 6 (CNA) The Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK) said Monday that it expects the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) to bring tremendous business opportunities to Taiwan at a time when the country is eager to upgrade its industries.

At a technology forum, which started on Monday and will run through Nov. 14, The IEK, which is under the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute, said AI has already become part of daily life and the new technology has been gradually integrated into the Internet of Things (IoT) so the research group envisions that AIoT will be at the forefront of change in Taiwan's industrial development and even the economy in the near future.

AI and IoT have long been considered inseparable and AIoT recognizes AI as the backbone of IoT development. As a result, the global tech world has merged the two acronyms to form AIoT.

The IEK said 2018 will see the accelerated merger of AI and IoT, and Taiwan needs to speed up developments to seize emerging business opportunities arising from the trend.

The research group said AIoT will provide Taiwan with new businesses in a wide range of industries such as semiconductors, communications, electronic components, particularly flat panels, smart vehicles, smart machinery, green energy, agricultural technology, biotech, and medical care.

During the forum, the IEK said it will review Taiwan's efforts in AI and IoT development over the past few years and look at potential business opportunities and even technological challenges Taiwan will face until 2030.

The IEK's advocacy of the new technology echoed comments made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) Chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) on Saturday.

Chang said TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has invested a great deal in AI and IoT, which have made a major contribution to the company's bottom line and is determined to invest in new technologies.

Chang said he expected AI to first make an impact in health care applications, such as preventing strokes.

In late October, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) pledged to invest a total of NT$4 billion (US$132 million) over the next four years to cultivate a talent pool for AI technology development in Taiwan.

(By Wei Shu and Frances Huang)
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