Weekly Roundup: Key Developments in Tech, Politics, and Global Affairs in Taiwan
6 September 2024
Technology
SEMICON: ASE asked the three giants Samsung, TSMC and Google the side effects of the AI revolution.
ASE CEO Tien Wu recently held a summit dialogue with industry leaders from Google, Samsung, and TSMC at the Taipei International Semiconductor Exhibition (SEMICON). Wu Tianyu proceeds to asked the audience’s doubts to these tech giants such as:
1. The scale of AI adoption in the future.
2. The dark side of AI development.
3. The cost of innovation.
Source: Storm News
https://www.storm.mg/article/5233848?mode=whole
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HTC will release new virtual reality HTC VIVE product on the evening of the 18th
HTC announced the new product preview of "SEE THE WONDER" on its global HTC VIVE virtual reality Facebook fan group on the 6th, and will announce relevant information on the evening of the 18th. HTC VIVE virtual reality brand is committed to serve real world adoption in the professional field through immersive virtual reality. In addition to launching new products on the 18th, a "2024 XR & AI Innovation Day" will be held on the 19th to explore a new wave of diverse entertainment and performance experiences with developers in XR-related fields.
Source: UDN News
https://tech.udn.com/tech/story/123454/8210398?from=udn-indexnewnews_ch1024
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The digital war in the catering industry! A breakfast shop has more than 600,000 members, and App orders account for more than 50%
According to a survey, Taiwan's catering industry whose operations were disrupted by the epidemic in 2023 dropped from 79.9% to 33.5% indicating that the catering industry is gradually recovering. In recent years, technology companies such as LINE, inline, iCHEF, and many others have invested heavily in the catering field, significantly lowering the threshold for technology introduction.
These tech companies introduced digital tools such as online ordering, table reservation and memberships. Currently, Q Burger has more than 600,000 members, and the online payment ratio has exceeded 50%, demonstrating the capabilities of digital integration for catering services.
Source: Business Weekly
https://www.businessweekly.com.tw/business/blog/3016573
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Politics & Business
Will minimum wage increase lead to inflation? National Development Council: Raising the minimum wage for nine consecutive years has little impact
The Minimum Wage Review Council of the Ministry of Labor recently decided to adjust the minimum wage to NT$28,590 and the hourly wage to NT$190 next year, an increase of 4.08%. Liu Jingqing, chairman of the National Development Council , stated that wages account for about 10% to 14% of the operating costs in various industries. With the current core inflation being 1.82% it will not bring a negative impact and he ensures that the government is paying close attention to this.
Source: SETN News
https://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=1525670&utm_campaign=viewallnews
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Carbon fee review will be held next Monday. Peng Qiming: Prices still need to converge, and the levy will definitely be launched next year
The fourth carbon fee review meeting will be held next Monday. The Minister of the Environment Peng Qiming said that sub-laws related to carbon fees have been announced and carbon fees will be levied starting from January next year. Entities from the environmental groups want the fees to be higher while the economic department wants the fees to be lower.
Source: UDN News
https://udn.com/news/story/7238/8210616?from=udn-catebreaknews_ch2
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Taiwan's housing prices are soaring, is it about to face a housing bubble? Experts named 4 counties and cities as the first to bear the brunt
Zhu Wenyu, chairman of the recently listed construction stock Wang Aishanlin publicly named Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung as some areas with large volumes and high prices and have a chance of facing a market bubble. The word “bubble” caused a stir in the market and triggered a huge backlash from the industry since it is a very sensitive term to use which is usually used to describe when a particular market or industry is overvalued and is about to experience a wave of unfavorable events.
Source: Storm News
https://www.storm.mg/lifestyle/5233824
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International
Typhoon "Lippi" may develop next week! Taiwan is warned of thunderstorms over the weekend, with the largest areas exposed
Jia Xingxing, director of the Taiwan Integrated Disaster Prevention Engineering Technology Consulting Company stated that there will be afternoon thunderstorms in various places on the weekend. On Saturday, there will be locally heavy rains in the south of Taiwan that will last for a long time. There will be local showers in various places throughout the week, however after more than 5 days the weather forecast is highly variable and uncertain.
Source: SETN News
https://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=1525474&utm_campaign=viewallnews
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The chip war heats up! ASML questions whether U.S. controls are becoming "economically motivated"
During the Citi Seminar in New York, Christophe Fouquet, CEO of Dutch computer chip equipment leader ASML pointed out that the U.S.-led control measures on chip exports to China have gradually shifted from national security considerations to economic motivations. This change has made the reasons for implementing controls on the grounds of national security even weaker.
Source: Storm News
https://www.storm.mg/article/5233710
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AI Data Centers becomes one of the biggest electricity consumers
The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that as of 2022, the combined electricity consumption of data centers, cryptocurrency, and AI-related fields account for nearly 2% of global energy demand and by 2026, demand will double equivalent to Japan’s entire year’s electricity consumption. Training a large language model like OpeAI’s GPT-3 requires nearly 1.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 130 American households.
The power consumption of AI is just the tip of the iceberg when taking cryptocurrency and data centers into consideration. According to IEA statistics, the United States will have 2,700 data centers in 2022, consuming 4% of the country’s electricity and expected to reach 6% by 2026.
Source: Business Weekly
https://www.businessweekly.com.tw/international/blog/3016562