In her new book “Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy,” writer Beth Simone Noveck warns that while AI can increase efficiency, predictive models pose significant ethical and societal risks.

In Taoyuan, Taiwan’s bustling industrial hub where 200 semiconductor manufacturing facilities are based, Mayor San-Cheng Chang is using AI to orchestrate an ambitious transformation. He brings a unique blend of technical expertise and government experience to the challenge of running the country’s fastest-growing city. Before becoming mayor, he served as Taiwan’s first nonpartisan premier and held leadership positions at both Google and Acer. As a former director of Taiwan’s National Center for High-Performance Computing, Chang embodies the intersection of technology and governance that helps explain Taoyuan’s embrace of AI.

As the home of Taiwan’s international airport as well as 2.2 million residents, Taoyuan must manage heavy truck traffic, air pollution, rapid population growth, and constant construction. Since March 2023, Taoyuan has run an AI-powered lung cancer screening initiative targeting citizens over 40 with risk factors that include occupational exposure and family history. Two years later, Taoyuan’s program had screened over 400,000 residents, detecting 233 lung cancer cases (90% in early stage), and achieving cost savings of NT$500 million ($17 million) through AI-aided diagnostics. To manage this volume without overwhelming local hospitals, the city deployed advanced AI software, which can predict cancer risk from a single low-dose CT scan without requiring additional clinical data, helping doctors to efficiently triage cases and focus resources on those most at risk.

Modern AI-powered predictive models are being dangerously relied on in more decision-making arenas, including the delivery of government services, without justification.

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