Mechanisms should ensure the tech wealth is shared
The overwhelming power of Big Tech companies calls for government intervention to ensure that the value they create, as well as the value they extract in monopoly rents, is distributed fairly among workers and consumers. To curb the market power of Big Tech firms and ensure that new technologies benefit everyone, governments must invest in developing digital public infrastructure. Moreover, the establishment of public digital infrastructure is crucial to implementing certain policy measures, such as Nobel laureate economist Paul Romer’s proposed tax on digital advertising. However, Big Tech firms have undermined this implicit agreement by exploiting various legal loopholes to minimize their tax burdens, compromising the quality of their services, and routinely violating copyright laws. The time has come to establish effective and necessary institutional mechanisms to ensure that potentially transformative technologies benefit everyone, not just a privileged few.
Source:Taipei Times
March 01, 2024 17:10 UTC
Beijing’s policy changes dangerous
Beijing’s policy changes dangerousBy Gong Lin-dong 宮臨冬This is the Year of the Dragon. Xi’s ethno-nationalistic policy of “de-Westernization” has brought about changes such as banning foreign names and restricting foreign holidays and celebrations. These policy changes could lead to conflict between China and religious countries. Taiwan has also been affected by China’s cultural policies, especially the younger generation. China’s cultural policies have domestic and international effects.
Source:Taipei Times
March 01, 2024 03:43 UTC
India Okays US$15 billion of milestone chip plant investments
India Okays US$15 billion of milestone chip plant investmentsStaff writer, with BloombergIndia’s government has approved US$15.2 billion worth of investments in semiconductor fabrication plants, including a Tata Group proposal to build the country’s first major chipmaking facility. Photo: Reuters“We will start construction of this plant within 100 days,” the minister said during the briefing, referring to Tata’s fab. The government has offered to shoulder half the cost of any approved projects, up to an initial ceiling of US$10 billion. The semiconductor fund has already helped US memory maker Micron Technology Inc establish a US$2.75 billion assembly facility in Gujarat. Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC, 力積電) yesterday confirmed that it would assist Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd to build India’s first 12-inch wafer fab in Dholera, Gujarat.
Source:Taipei Times
February 29, 2024 18:41 UTC
India’s EV revolution is driven from the bottom up
India’s EV revolution is driven from the bottom upTruck owners are intensely sensitive to the combined costs of purchase, refueling and maintenance — and manufacturers seem on the cusp of hitting their sweet spotBy David Fickling / Bloomberg OpinionLife moves pretty fast. E-rickshaws took a 54 percent share of India’s three-wheeler market last year, driven by zippy, longer-range models and running costs that are a fraction of petroleum-powered alternatives. Only about 1.4 percent of India’s gasoline and diesel is consumed by three-wheelers, but two-wheelers gulp down about 17 percent of the total. Trucks are normally seen as the hardest segment for electric vehicles (EV) to crack. When the EV revolution arrives in India, it would come from the bottom up.
Source:Taipei Times
February 29, 2024 16:56 UTC
Politicians are stoking a climate backlash that threatens green goals
On the campaign trail, Trump has minimized the effects of climate change, attacked electric vehicles and pledged to repeal Biden’s signature climate law. These are emotional things to people,” said Bas Eickhout, a Dutch member of the European Parliament with the European Green Party. EUUndoing current climate policy in the EU would be even harder than torpedoing the IRA. This is because the British public consistently says it cares about climate change and thinks the government is not doing enough to tackle it. That made him an outlier among his South American neighbors — Brazil, Chile and Colombia have all elected leftist leaders who have pledged strong action on climate change.
Source:Taipei Times
February 28, 2024 16:38 UTC
US start-up to help Japan on AI chips
US start-up to help Japan on AI chipsBloombergThe Japanese government-backed research group developing semiconductors is to partner with US start-up Tenstorrent Inc on the design of its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chip. However, Rapidus would need customers for its facility and Keller’s team sees Japan working to ensure both supply and demand. “What Japan is doing is they recognize that you can’t just build a fab and hope,” Tenstorrent chief customer officer David Bennett said in an interview. In Japan, the company is to work on AI chip designs with the government research group, known as Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center (LSTC). Last year, Kishida met with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) to discuss AI regulation and infrastructure.
Source:Taipei Times
February 28, 2024 03:39 UTC
Nearly 40 nations to take part in smart city events
Nearly 40 nations to take part in smart city eventsCOOPERATION: The ICDF has inked an MOU to share Taiwan’s achievements in smart agriculture and talent cultivation with countries in the Asia-PacificBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterHundreds of government officials from 37 countries are to participate in next month’s Smart City Summit and Expo to exchange views on topics such as sustainable development and net zero emissions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. A promotional poster for the 2024 Smart City Summit and Expo is pictured yesterday. Photo: Screen grab from the Smart City Summit and Expo Web siteIn addition, nearly 900 industry representatives of 103 companies, associations or organizations from 32 countries are to take part in the events, she said. The participants are to learn about Taiwan’s experience in promoting smart city development and exchange views with the nation’s public and private sectors on diverse topics including green energy, sustainable development, smart transportation, medical care and education, she said. Taiwan’s technical mission in Paraguay held a Valentine’s Day sale in San Lorenzo from Feb. 9 to Feb. 16, which attracted more than 1,000 visitors, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2024 21:43 UTC
No need to halt death penalty debate
No need to halt death penalty debateBy Cui Jia-wei 崔家瑋Chuang Sheng-rong (莊勝榮), a lawyer and former National Assembly delegate, recently argued in an op-ed (“Court to hear death penalty arguments,” Feb. 24, page 8) that the Judicial Yuan, with the term of its current president about to expire, should not address the constitutionality of the death penalty. Regarding the death penalty, Chuang points out that Interpretation Nos. 194, 263 and 476 did not declare the death penalty unconstitutional. Chuang also mentions the wide range of issues involved in the death penalty debate, including public opinion, politics, law, religion, criminology and criminal policy. Although the death penalty issue is indeed complex, pushing discussion of it back would not lead to better outcomes.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2024 21:43 UTC
Disney, Reliance clinch India media merger pact
Disney, Reliance clinch India media merger pactBloombergWalt Disney Co and Reliance Industries Ltd have signed a binding pact to merge their media operations in India, people familiar with the matter said, as the US entertainment giant recasts its strategy amid intense competition in the world’s most-populous country. The media unit of Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and its affiliates are expected to own at least 61 percent in the merged entity, with Disney holding the rest, the people said. Disney and Reliance logos are seen in this illustration taken December 15, 2023. Disney owns a minority stake in broadcast service provider, Tata Play Ltd, which Reliance might consider acquiring, local news reports said. Disney has been grappling with challenges in India, such as retaining subscribers and securing coveted media assets, while Reliance has cornered a larger slice of the local media and entertainment businesses in recent years.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2024 18:43 UTC
India makes progress with US$21bn chip proposals
Israel’s Tower Semiconductor Ltd is proposing a US$9 billion plant, while India’s Tata Group has put forward an US$8 billion chip fabrication unit, people familiar with the matter said. Although Tower’s sales are a fraction of giants Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), it makes components for large customers such as Broadcom Inc and serves fast-growing sectors like electric vehicles. The US$150 billion Tata group has previously said it plans to begin construction of a chip fabrication plant in Dholera this year. Tata operates India’s biggest smartphone component plant, constructed at a cost of more than US$700 million, in southern India. To qualify for state subsidies, any chip project would have to make detailed disclosures including whether it has binding agreements with a technology partner for production.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2024 18:43 UTC
Deterrents against Xi’s ambitions
The PLA Air Force is now dramatically more powerful than Taiwan’s, but still does not surpass the overall power of US forces in the region. Its air defense systems, while effective, could be improved, recent assessments showed. China’s military advancements, coupled with Taiwan’s steadfast desire to remain separate, mean that time is no longer the primary factor in China’s decision-making process. Nonetheless, the military deterrents remain intact, including the US nuclear arsenal, which consists of 5,550 warheads, significantly outnumbering China’s 350. Therefore, the question of whether China will invade now is less about objective deterrence and more about the rational analysis versus Xi’s personal ambitions.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2024 16:42 UTC
Brahma Chellaney on Taiwan: China’s self-serving historical tales
Brahma Chellaney on Taiwan: China’s self-serving historical talesWhen Beijing says “Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China” and calls this “an indisputable legal and historical fact,” it promotes a claim that has absolutely no basis in international law or history. But Taiwan has never been an integral part of China in history. China’s weak legal case was highlighted by the 2016 Hague ruling, when an international arbitral tribunal invalidated Chinese claims in the South China Sea. China’s “nine-dash line” encompassing much of the South China Sea exemplifies how it uses alleged history to pursue aggressive expansionism. This helps to rationalize its muscular foreign policy, which seeks to make real the legend that drives the CCP’s revisionist history — China’s centrality in the world.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2024 21:49 UTC
AI trying to predict your death is not as scary as it sounds
AI trying to predict your death is not as scary as it soundsBy F.D. The paper that spawned the fracas, in the journal Nature Computational Science, did involve using AI to predict death, but it was not very precise. Will doctors and hospital administrators put too much faith in the decisions or forecasts of AI because it is fast and sounds confident? Can the medical system use AI responsibly if people have unrealistic or magical ideas about what it can do? He is looking for a more coherent scientific understanding of the way algorithms can predict complex phenomena, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2024 18:49 UTC
EDITORIAL: New legislators show inexperience
EDITORIAL: New legislators show inexperienceNewly elected legislators reported to the Legislative Yuan on Feb. 1 and held their first official meeting on Tuesday, but its disoriented state has highlighted new legislators’ inexperience. The KMT caucus on Feb. 15 urged Han to hold consultations the next day regarding Chen. The food safety report on Friday was also disrupted by Han a few times, asking for “mutual respect among legislators and government officials” to share the 15-minute Q&A time, as a few new KMT legislators refused to let Chen speak. It is understandable that new legislators would want to prove their worth and raise their profile, but as lawmakers, legislators should first familiarize themselves with the Constitution, laws and legislative procedures. The new legislative caucuses and legislators must also put their political stunts aside and step up their game.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2024 03:45 UTC
Kashmiri holy water
His rosewater shop in the Khankah-e-Moula neighborhood in the old city of Kashmir’s main town Srinagar is a piece of history. A Kashmiri chef prepares wazwan (a multi-course Kashmiri cuisine) during a mass marriage ceremony. The traditional business of making rosewater, however, is not lucrative and the competition is immense. Zareef Ahmad Zareef, an octogenarian Kashmiri poet and cultural activist, remembers visiting the Kozgar shop when he was a child to purchase herbal medicines. “I do remember going there and purchasing different herbal syrups that were effective against cold and cough.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2024 20:10 UTC