The Taiwan Generative AI Applications Hackathon is kicking off. The contest aims to showcase Generative AI application examples based on cloud computing and the latest Claude 3 large language model (LLM), developed here in Taiwan, to the world.
DIGITIMES will hold the "AI Wave: Taiwan Generative AI Applications Hackathon" on May 18-19, 2024. Taiwan has the most extensive tech supply chain know-how in the world, large amounts of consumer data thanks to a high Internet penetration rate, and frequent cyberattacks, all of which together form a perfect setting for developers and innovators looking to create applications. This is what drives DIGITIMES to organize the hackathon with support from the National Development Council. Contestants will use Amazon Web Services' (AWS) Generative AI services, LLMs including the latest Anthropic Claude 3, launched in March 2024, and a code-free application builder AWS PartyRock.
The competition will be divided into a hackathon division and an idea exchange division. The hackathon division will comprise six well-known global corporations from different sectors including Advantech, Gogoro, HITACHI, JUMBO TECHNOLOGY, Trend Micro, and Wowprime. Competitors in the idea exchange division will work on problems assigned by the Kaohsiung City Government and FinTechSpace. Teams of two to five members can register for the AI Wave: Taiwan Generative AI Applications Hackathon online now until April 20, 2024, to win awards totaling NT$300,000. Both students and non-students are welcome. Visit the official website for more information.
Stepping up their collaborative efforts, DIGITIMES and AWS will hold a series of activities, including Generative AI Workshops and an AWS Cloud Practitioner Bootcamp, to boost the participants' cloud and AI skills before the contest. Moreover, there will also be recruitment tables at the event and one-on-one guidance sessions with industry experts and instructors to help the participating teams build Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) skills and other techniques.
DIGITIMES commented "As a Taiwan-based tech media platform with a global influence, we are well aware that Taiwan has a wealth of tech supply chain data that is not found anywhere else in the world and that the global tech sector treasures. Taiwan is also among the countries with a high mobile phone penetration and social media usage, giving rise to abundant and diverse consumer data. Taiwan also has large amounts of cybersecurity data as it often falls victim to cyberattacks. These set up a good foundation for Taiwan's developers and students to bring to reality unique applications that solve problems facing the world today as Generative AI impacts every industry. We hope that our collaborations with AWS and the other global corporations in holding the hackathon will foster more Taiwanese AI talents that transcend national borders and language barriers and together create a Generative AI future."
AWS remarked, "Through our talent development initiatives such as AWS Educate, AWS Academy, Cloud Innovation School, and AWS Training Partner programs tailored for various stages, AWS has trained over 100,000 cloud professionals in Taiwan. In the realm of Generative AI, we launched the 'AI Ready' program in 2023, aimed at providing free AI training and education resources to 2 million individuals globally by 2025. This program encompasses eight complementary courses designed to equip learners with AI and Generative AI skills. Additionally, we have partnered with the online learning platform Udacity to offer scholarships to students, while collaborating with Code.org to educate students about Generative AI. We are thrilled to extend a series of hands-on workshops exclusively for developers and students in Taiwan, complementing our existing initiatives. We eagerly anticipate witnessing the remarkable innovations that contestants will unveil during the event. Our ultimate objective is to nurture Taiwan's capabilities in fostering unicorn companies that garner global recognition and admiration."
Liao Tai-Hsiang, Director-General of the Economic Development Bureau, Kaohsiung City Government noted that he expects to see the participants use the much-raved-about Generative AI to enable unlimited city development possibilities together with the Kaohsiung City Government. It is also hoped that the collaborations with DIGITIMES, AWS, and other corporate partners will cultivate cloud AI talents that will form a strong support for Kaohsiung's smart technology industry. Not only has Kaohsiung set a dual industry transformation policy – digital transformation and net-zero emission, but it is also working with the central government to drive the Startup Terrace Kaohsiung. The project has successfully brought 175 companies to Kaohsiung from home and abroad, creating more than 5,000 jobs and generating investments close to NT$23 billion and production value totaling NT$53.8 billion.
Registrations for AI Wave: Taiwan Generative AI Applications Hackathon are accepted now until April 20, 2024. Click here for more information on the contest.
Taiwan Generative AI Applications Hackathon kicks off. Contestants will use cloud computing and the latest Claude 3 LLM to develop generative AI applications. (DIGITIMES)
