In Yunlin, our international delegation from the Intelligent Community Forum witnessed how cultural heritage could be blended with high tech to create a unique experience. Image supplied
From the exhibit floors of Taipei to elementary schools in Yunlin, GIC Director Robin Raskin returned from her March 2026 visit to Taiwan with her theory reinforced: the next frontier in technology is not invention, it is knitting the existing pieces of technology together. Along the way, she also found a sharper East-West contrast than expected, on surveillance, on AI in education, and on a commitment to net-zero that some Western nations have quietly shelved. In this month’s GIC Update, she makes the case for the integrators.
Geopolitics aside, I was fortunate to be part of an international delegation that visited Taiwan from March 16-20, 2026, as a delegate of the Intelligent Communities Forum (ICF), where we engaged in smart city initiatives, technological showcases, and cultural exchanges across Taipei, and Yunlin. The focus was on digital transformation, AI applications and community-driven innovation.
The trip reinforced my theory that the next iteration for technologists is not to constantly chase the next “shiny-shiny”, but to begin to knit the systems together to work as a whole. The next plateau will be about integration; the innovations will stem from creating holistic systems using AI to knit the disparate IoT devices and information services that currently exist. While it might not be as sexy as building the next great widget, it needs to be where we focus our attention and skill sets.
I began my trip with a full day at the Smart City Summit and Expo where AI, governance, and sustainability were on display. And while the Summit has taken place in Taipei for more than a decade, this may have been the year that AI gave a new definition to the word “smart”.
Walking the exhibit floor, I did not see any new technologies that wowed me. Instead, I saw how digital solutions could build holistic smart systems.
Three examples that stood out?
Firefighting: An emergency response system that coordinated thermal imaging drones, IoT sensors, AI-powered fire prediction software, real-time mapping, autonomous robots and 5G. Instead of arriving on the scene of a fire with no information, this system could map smoke movement in real time, identify trapped victims, send robots into dangerous zones and coordinate responders through live data feeds. The aha moment was not a single innovation but a connected system of existing parts.
Hospital at Home and Caring for the Elderly: In this scenario, it was demonstrated that elderly or chronic care patients could remain at home with a combination of wearable health sensors, remote diagnostic tools, AI systems, smart medication reminders, telemedicine platforms and cloud-based patient records.
Doctors across the patient spectrum were able to continuously monitor vital signs with alerts to any change. AI systems would flag anomalies and have the right medical staff intervene remotely. There were also robotic assistants to offer companionship and stitch it all together.
Caption: While I’ve seen these robots showcased numerous times before, these were part of a larger health care scenario. Image supplied
The AI Smart City Initiative: Spearheaded by ASUS and Foxconn, the demonstration showed how traffic management, emergency response and public safety could be knit into a single AI-driven urban operations platform. With many participating companies, it showcased AI computer vision cameras at traffic intersections, traffic-light control systems, emergency vehicle tracking, citywide sensor networks, digital twins, edge computing and cloud analytics. So, for example, if an ambulance were deployed, cameras would identify the traffic congestion areas in real time, with AI systems predicting the optimal route to the scene. Digital signage re-routed other traffic. Digital twins allowed for the monitoring of the vehicle. Again, more about connecting disconnected pieces than inventing something brand new.
West vs East
In Taiwan, the government is heavily subsidising digital transformation efforts. I read that under the Taiwan AI Action Plan 2.0, the government allocated about US$500 million in technology spending for fiscal 2025 alone, with 2026 as the final year of this plan and agencies accelerating subsidy disbursement. A broader AI Nation initiative promises an even larger investment, with some of the funds coming from public science investments, construction investments and the National Development Fund. These public/private partnerships will yield a healthy ROI.
I also couldn’t help but note that Taiwan, like other Asian countries, is not as flummoxed by privacy and surveillance considerations as are some of its Western counterparts. Even during our visit to elementary schools in smaller provinces like Yunlin, we saw that they’d doubled down on having AI-enabled robots help teach students – a concept that’s met with more skepticism in the West.
And finally, it was evident that while some countries (especially the US) have walked back their commitments to net-zero initiatives, they remain a pillar for Taiwan. A visit to the Formosa Plastics Group’s man-made island showcased how technology is powering the company’s ESG efforts. The factory has its own compost plant, converting waste to fertiliser that is distributed back to Yunlin residents. It recovers solid fuel from municipal waste and keeps its shipping area as a “Green Ecological Port” with environmental safeguards.
While my Letter from Taiwan showcases the efforts of one country, the lesson applies to any. It’s time to stitch the pieces of technology together to create true smart systems
The IFIP IP3 Global Industry Council (GIC) serves as the principal forum for employers and educators to engage with IP3 and shape the global ICT profession. Each month, they feature relevant and insightful ideas in IFIP Insights.