TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan announced Tuesday (March 10) what organizers call the world's first AI City Pavilion, featuring nearly 60 artificial intelligence solutions for urban governance ahead of next week's international expo. The island seeks to position itself as a global exporter of smart city technology, building on its established reputation as a semiconductor manufacturing hub and technology innovation center.
The 13th Smart City Summit & Expo (SCSE, 智慧城市展) runs March 17-20 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center (台北南港展覽館), the Taipei Computer Association (台北市電腦公會), the event organizer, announced that day. Delegations from 53 countries and 174 cities will attend the expo, along with more than 3,000 overseas business leaders seeking urban technology solutions for their communities worldwide.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (華碩) and Foxconn (鴻海) lead more than 20 industry partners in developing the pavilion, which presents a five-layer architecture spanning computing infrastructure, AI models, platforms, applications, and innovation. The system demonstrates four urban scenarios: transportation, healthcare, security, and city governance. The pavilion showcases Taiwan's integrated approach to smart city development and positions the island as a technology solutions provider.
Samson Hu (胡書賓), co-CEO of ASUSTeK and chairman of the Taiwan Smart City Solutions Alliance (TSSA, 台灣智慧城市產業聯盟), said Taiwan will unite government, industry, and academia to refine AI City solutions and promote them internationally. Seven government agencies and 13 local governments participate in the initiative, though the specific ministries involved were not disclosed in Tuesday's announcement.
Real-world deployments already operate in Tainan and Kaohsiung, with 13 local governments participating alongside seven ministries in the smart city initiative. Wang Ming-chu (王明鉅), Taoyuan's deputy mayor, highlighted the city's smart healthcare achievements as evidence of Taiwan's capabilities. "To date, over 60,000 people have had CT lung cancer screening," Wang said. "This number and achievement rank among the highest in the world."
Wang added that Taoyuan plans to expand smart residential projects alongside existing programs in environmental protection, transportation, and healthcare. "Our smart residential projects will also become an important part in the future," he said. The city's initiatives demonstrate how local governments across Taiwan are implementing smart city solutions in multiple sectors to improve urban life for residents.
International delegations from the United States, Thailand, Poland, and other nations will attend the expo to assess Taiwan's approach to smart city development and potential adoption of its technology solutions. The island, known globally for semiconductor manufacturing, is positioning itself as a provider of integrated urban technology solutions for cities worldwide seeking to modernize their infrastructure and governance systems.
The expo introduces an "AI City as a Service" model and a new international workshop called CITY VISION IN ACTION, where city representatives and solution providers collaborate on urban challenges. More than 250 startups will participate through the Smart Startups Program. Questions remain about how quickly smaller cities with limited budgets can adopt these solutions at scale, as implementation costs and adoption timelines were not addressed. ◼
