Taiwan unveils its draft artificial intelligence bill

Taiwan has rolled out the first draft of an AI bill to control artificial intelligence technology. The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) made public the proposed bill to address the risks associated with rapidly growing AI technology and ensure data protection.

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The draft bill essentially aims to establish a comprehensive national framework for AI regulation that prioritizes safety, privacy of data and standards for AI applications. It also recognizes the need to safeguard workers who may be impacted by AI-driven automation.

Taiwan sets the stage for AI regulation with the new framework

The proposed bill presents quite a few areas of regulation. These measures are intended to reduce the risks associated with AI, such as biases and errors in decision-making. The draft bill demands strict data protection standards for all artificial intelligence technologies ensuring compliance with privacy laws designed to safeguard personal information.

In addition, the bill provides guidelines on how AI should be developed and used ethically. This involves demonstrating transparency in AI operations and ensuring that they are explainable and understandable to users. Public trust in these systems according to NSTC can only be achieved through such openness about them.

Moreover, this bill also considers socio-economic impacts of artificial intelligence specifically concerning the workforce. It calls for actions that will help workers who have lost their jobs due to automation by providing them with new skills through job retraining programs while at the same time creating more jobs related to AI. This part of the bill seeks to balance technological progress with social accountability.

Concerning AI regulation, Taiwan considers public consultation as essential to facilitate comprehensive and diverse perspectives from various stakeholders such as professionals in this field, academics, and the general public. In that regard, NSTC is inviting comments from stakeholders until mid-September, hoping that a myriad of opinions will help shape the final bill.