International Green Party Showcases AI Solutions for a Healthy and Sustainable Future

Organized by the Taiwan Creative Economy Association (TCEA), the 2024 International Green Party was successfully held from 14 to 15 September at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei City. Under the theme of “AI Solutions: Accelerating the Path to SDGs?”, this year’s event covered four major areas, namely healthcare, environmental protection, energy management and social equity, and brought together experts and scholars from all over the world to share insights into the innovative applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in these areas and explore how AI can bring impetus to sustainable development.

Related article: Advancing Healthcare Accessibility and Sustainable Development 

Experts Gather in Taipei to Explore Challenges and Opportunities of the AI Era

In his opening speech, TCEA Chairman Fred Chan mentioned that the widespread applications of AI are changing people’s way of life and work, yet the challenges and risks brought by the development of AI technology must be faced squarely. He hoped that the discussions at the event could help participants better understand the potential, limitations and prospects of AI, as well as provide guidance for the formulation of relevant policies and regulations to facilitate the responsible development of AI technology for the betterment of society.

Dr. Kao Ming-Chien, Chairman of the Cerebrovascular Diseases Prevention and Treatment Foundation (the co-organizer of the event), highlighted the applications of AI in stroke prevention and screening. With the aid of AI tools, healthcare professionals can identify high-risk groups for early intervention to reduce the incidence of stroke.

The 2024 edition of the International Green Party also received strong support from the Taipei City Government, with Deputy Commissioner Chiou I-Liou of the Department of Environmental Protection as the guest of honour. She mentioned that AI can play an important role in areas such as waste sorting, water pollution control, and air quality management, and provide a solid foundation for policy planning and implementation. In the future, the advancement of carbon reduction technology should be accelerated to achieve sustainable development goals and become a city of net-zero emissions. Meanwhile, apart from Taiwanese experts from industry, government, academia, and medical institutions, there were also representatives from a total of 18 countries attending the event, such as Korea, Japan, Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Canada and the United States.

Human Rights, Ethics, and Resource Management Issues Deserve Serious Attention

The keynote session kicked off with a speech by Yehoshua ‘Jack’ Westover, Acting Director General of the World Blockchain Organization. He believes that the use of AI will continue to expand and extend to all areas of human life. Citing the establishment of Worldcoin (WLD) and proof of personhood technology envisioned by OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman as examples, Westover pointed out that the computing power of AI could be used to replace money as a source of Universal Basic Income (UBI) in the future, alleviating the problem of job substitution arising from the emergence of AI and enhancing social equity. Lin Li-Chieh, Chairman of the Taiwan Artificial Intelligence Industry Association, noted that AI technology would transform future education by enabling individualized and differentiated learning and promoting social-emotional learning (SEL) among youths.

From the perspective of social development, Fred Chen reminded participants of the human rights, ethical and social welfare challenges AI brings, such as accountability, transparency, algorithmic fairness, job replacement, personal privacy and information security. In addition, considering that AI applications involve significant electricity and water consumption, the consequent impact on resource allocation and carbon emissions should also be addressed seriously. To embrace the new era of AI, it is important to ensure that AI development and deployment are ethical through better education, robust regulation, multi-stakeholder cooperation, and responsible innovation. It is also imperative to investigate and formulate legislation governing AI applications.

Biodiversity Credit System for Environmental Sustainability

Dr. Ed Yen, Secretary General of the International Albert Schweitzer Foundation (Asia Branch), delivered the audience a keynote speech on ‘’Smart Biodiversity Credit Systems‘’. As an expert in AI for biodiversity, Yen gave an overview of the evolution of the Biodiversity Credit System (BCS). The system allows private companies to purchase biodiversity credits to finance nature restoration and biodiversity conservation efforts, whose implementation outcomes are measurable, quantifiable and trackable. He explained in his speech how local and international collaboration can provide more efficient, accurate and comprehensive ecological monitoring and management tools to address the complexity and long-term management needs of the global environment and to put in place multi-disciplinary sustainability strategies.

AI as a Key Driver of Sustainable Healthcare, Secondary Prevention and Health Management

With healthcare as one of the four main focuses of the event, the organizer also invited experts in this field to speak about how AI can promote the sustainable development of the healthcare system, strengthen disease prevention and enhance the holistic health of individuals. Prof. Duujian Tsai, Chairman of the Taiwan Social Empowerment Alliance, pointed out that the adoption of AI and digital technologies can help healthcare institutions monitor patient health, reduce resource wastage, and help administrators formulate and implement ESG-compliant policies for high-quality healthcare, sustainability, and emission reduction.

Prof. Chen Chiu-Lung, President of the World Health Management Association, highlighted the applications of AI in the secondary prevention of disease and health management. Taking cardiovascular diseases, which have been ranked as among the top three causes of death in Taiwan, as examples, he emphasized that AI-powered cardiac assessment can facilitate the early detection of potential cardiovascular conditions, thus preventing the onset of disease that could even lead to sudden death. On the other hand, through the patented wearable AI microchip sensor device and cloud APP system, users can check their blood pressure, heartbeat, electrocardiogram, heart ultrasound and other health data on their own. After interpretation and analysis by AI, measurement reports can be generated for reference to help people discover abnormalities at an early stage, and also to enable medical professionals to seize opportunities for timely treatments.

In addition to keynote speeches, the organizer also arranged on-site activities such as AI-powered health assessment and consultation during the event, allowing visitors to experience the convenience and benefits of technological innovations.

Author

Richard Chau