National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) answered questions today about the draft proposal for an artificial intelligence (AI) law, stating that it has undergone minor revisions, and should be sent to the Legislature for review near the end of October.
The draft bill was previously released for a period of public consultation, during which Wu says that many suggestions primarily came from either industry or human rights groups. While industry groups worried that the law would impose “draconian” penalties like those in the EU, human rights groups worried the bill was too liberal. Hearing that protections may have been inadequate, Wu says they tried to strike a balance between the two.
As the draft law is only basic provisions, Wu says that the Digital Ministry will develop more detailed functional methods, which will be explained in conjunction with the more complete law at a later stage.
Currently the draft of the NSTC’s basic AI law is eighteen articles in total, including seven guiding principles and four key promotion points. Those principles include sustainable development, human autonomy, privacy protection, information security and safety, transparency and explainability, fairness and non-discrimination, and accountability. On the other hand, the promotion points are innovative cooperation and talent cultivation, risk management and application responsibility, rights protection and data utilization, regulatory adjustment and business review