Comment in 2021

Unique circumstances in Taiwan led to the creation of the foundry model, where an integrated circuit manufacturer has no products of its own and its plants produce only customer designs. The model has reshaped the global semiconductor industry and is well positioned to be at the heart of technological innovation in the industry.

With careful planning and a focus on developing expertise, government policy has helped Taiwan become a centre for semiconductor innovation.

Through a combination of talent cultivation and innovative research and development, the integrated circuit design industry in Taiwan now plays a central role in global electronics.

The increasingly prominent — and inescapable — role of digital technologies during the coronavirus pandemic has been accompanied by concerning trends in privacy and digital ethics. But more robust protection of our rights in the digital realm is possible in the future.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced students and educators across all levels of education to rapidly adapt to online learning. The impact of this — and the developments required to make it work — could permanently change how education is delivered.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an infodemic of misleading and unreliable information. In response, social media platforms have taken unprecedented steps to moderate content and promote official sources of information, which, combined with new policies and appropriate communication, could help tackle misinformation.

The potential of digital contact tracing to slow the spread of a virus had been quietly explored for over a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic thrust the technology into the spotlight. But can it actually be effective in the hard-to-model complexity of real-world social networks?