Issue #29 of Data+AI in Asia
Welcome to this week’s edition of ‘Data+AI in Asia’. This time, the newsletter includes news from China, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea. Enjoy!
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This week in Data+AI in Asia:
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China Reviews GenAI Models, Wants Them to Embody Core Socialist Values
This is not novel information to those who follow China, but the long piece in the Financial Times on the topic is well worth a read. Chinese government officials are testing AI companies' large language models (LLMs) to ensure they embody core socialist values. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s powerful internet overseer, has forced tech companies and AI start-ups like ByteDance, Alibaba, Moonshot, and 01.AI to participate in a mandatory government review of their AI models. The process involves batch-testing an LLM's responses to a long list of questions. Many of those questions are related to China's political sensitivities and President Xi Jinping. The CAC has introduced limits on the number of questions LLMs can decline during safety tests, and some LLMs have implemented a blanket ban on topics related to President Xi. Chinese engineers have had to figure out how to ensure LLMs generate politically correct answers to questions such as whether China has human rights and whether Xi Jinping is a good leader.
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Read more here
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Singapore’s MAS Commits S$100M to Support Quantum and AI Technologies
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has committed an additional S$100 million (about US$74.4 million) to support financial institutions in building capabilities in quantum and AI technologies. The funds are part of Singapore’s Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Grant Scheme (FTSI 3.0), which aims to advance quantum and AI-related innovation and adoption in financial services. The quantum track will comprise the technology centers grant, the technology innovation grant, and the security grant. The technology centers grant will provide up to 50% of co-funding support for 24 months, while the security grant will enhance cybersecurity readiness for the quantum era. MAS will also collaborate with institutes of higher learning and the Institute of Banking and Finance on talent development initiatives. The regulator will also develop frameworks and platforms for policies and protocols. These will enable secure and privacy-protected data exchange in the financial sector.
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TSMC Profits Surge, Says AI Chip Constraints Will Last Through 2025
Taiwan’s TSMC reported a net profit of NT$247.84 (US$7.66( billion for the second quarter. That was an increase of 36.3% from the year before. Quarterly revenue came in at a record NT$673.51 billion, driven by a continued strong AI demand. The demand is strong that the company is signaling constraints in the supply. TSMC’s CEO C.C. Wei stated, "The demand is so high," Wei said. "The supply continues to be very tight all the way to 2025 and hopefully we can ease in 2026. ...We continue to increase [capacity] wherever we can, whatever we can." TSMC produces chips for most leading global chip developers. That includes advanced AI chips for Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. The company also produces core processor chips for AI PCs for Qualcomm, AMD, and Intel. Moreover, TSMC is the only supplier of processors for the next iPhone, which will run Apple Intelligence, the company's new AI platform.
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Read more here (paywall)
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Indonesia’s GoTo Introduces GoTo AI Program and Launches AI Voice Assistant
Indonesia's largest digital ecosystem, GoTo, has introduced GoTo AI. GoTo AI is a long-term program that aims to develop and use AI across the company’s ecosystem. The program focuses on three key areas: (1) creating a more seamless user experience, (2) strengthening safety across platforms, and (3) enhancing AI capacity and capability. GoTo has also introduced "Dira by GoTo AI", an AI-based voice assistant in Bahasa Indonesia. It is the first of its kind in Indonesia's fintech industry. GoTo says that Dira can shorten transaction durations and help users navigate features in the GoPay app's homepage with ease. Dira will be accessible at no cost on different types of mobile phones, including those with limited capacity. The company has made it clear that Dira is one of GoTo's key AI innovations and will continue to be developed as the company enhances its AI capability throughout the GoTo ecosystem.
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Read more here (paywall)
Malaysia’s Wise AI Raises at Least US$10M for Regional Expansion
This week, Malaysia-based selfie biometrics and digital ID provider Wise AI announced that it has raised at least ten million dollars in a series A funding round. Participants include Malaysia Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), VentureTech SBI Sdn Bhd (VT-SBI), and Sunway Group’s Sunway iLabs Ventures. The company aims all 680 million people living across Southeast Asia with a digital identity. The Malaysian government has selected Wise AI as an example of the national AI Governance and Ethics framework. Wise AI Founder and CEO David Lim envisions becoming the region’s leading eKYC and digital identity provider, localizing its offerings by working with partners in each country. VT-SBI Principal Mohd Jerry Tan believes that the technology or application of AI is still in its infancy in Southeast Asia, promising significant market growth.
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Japan Newspaper Association Urges Legal Reforms to Deal with AI Search
The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association has criticized generative AI search engines for copyright infringement. The association is calling for the Japanese government to amend laws as a way to protect intellectual property rights. The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association has previously called for permission to be obtained when using news content for training AI. Google has been conducting trial operations of generative AI search in Japan since August last year, and Microsoft has incorporated ChatGPT into its search engine, Bing. The association argues that many answers given by AI are similar to original news articles, suggesting that the services sometimes use news content without permission. A fundamental argument in the criticism is that the proliferation of AI-generated responses based on news content will increase zero-click searches since users are satisfied with the AI-generated responses and thus do not feel the need to visit the original websites. The association argues that this may undermine the very foundation of democracy and the cultural fabric of society.
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Taiwan’s Chief Telecom Claims AI Requires Completely New Infrastructure
Johnny Liu, the president of Taiwan's leading data center operator Chief Telecom, has said that all aspects of data centers, including power grid capacity and load-bearing capabilities, will need significant upgrades to meet the requirements of AI servers. The new type of buildings will require massive upgrades and a total redesign of standards, with the overall cost of these new forms being at least 50% higher than typical data centers. Power demands are also increasing, with AI servers becoming heavier and heavier, and data centers needing to be upgraded to support these heavier weights. The new type of servers is more expensive than traditional ones. They also require extra protection. Chief Telecom's newest data center in Taipei was designed to meet the requirements of AI servers. The company is also expanding its reach across the region and beyond, partnering with Japan Internet Xing and Germany's Deutsche Commercial Internet Exchange to connect customers to Singapore's DC-CIX ASEAN platform and DE-CIX Frankfurt. This partnership is part of Chief Telecom's efforts to accelerate expansion in Southeast Asia in response to the rising demand from Taiwanese suppliers moving into the region.
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Read more here (paywall)
South Korea Examines AI’s Effects on the Labor Market
South Korea is putting effort into understanding how the rapid development of AI will affect work. The Korea Labor Institute (KLI) and Korea Development Institute (KDI) held a forum on July 15 to discuss the impact of AI on South Korea's labor market. Oh Sam-il, head of the Employment Analysis Team at the Bank of Korea, highlighted that approximately 3.14 million jobs in South Korea, which make up 12% of total jobs, are highly exposed to AI, indicating a high likelihood of job replacement. He emphasized the need to move beyond job replacement due to AI and consider ways to enhance productivity using AI. The forum's discussions were set against the backdrop of demographic changes in South Korea, including an aging population and declining birth rates. The insights from the forum highlighted the need for proactive measures, adapting education and vocational training to prepare the workforce for the future.
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