Digital Minister Audrey Tang outlines Taiwan’s success in promoting digital democracy during her speech at the 2023 Concordia Annual Summit Sept. 19 in New York City. (MOFA)
 

Digital Minister Audrey Tang said Taiwan is eager to share its success in promoting digital democracy and the responsible use of artificial intelligence to help the global community realize the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The minster made the remarks during her speech titled “Digital Democracy in the Age of AI” at the Concordia Annual Summit Sept. 19 in New York City on the sidelines of the 78th U.N. General Assembly.

According to Tang, democratic values face unprecedented challenges as a result of the abuse of AI. The way forward is to focus on plurality, or collaborative diversity, to increase the bandwidth of democracy through digital technology to take divergences into account to seek a common ground for all, she said.

Taiwan’s success in expanding Taiwan-U.S. cooperation in defense, economy and people-to-people exchanges can be attributed in part to the use of digital platforms. Such technology has also been used to great effect to canvass public opinions during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to balance the enforcement of epidemic tracking with the need to protect privacy, the minister added.

Tang said the democratic approach is the optimal answer when considering ethical and political conundrums on an international scale, adding that the government will continue to employ AI to strengthen deliberative democracy in line with the principles of participation, progress and security.

As a responsible stakeholder of the global community, Taiwan will not waver in its determination to defend human rights and foster equitable economic prosperity for all, the minister added. (SFC-E)