Taiwan backs AI robots to plug labor gaps as its population ages

Government Tech Briefing: Certificates, Chips, Quantum, and AI Robots - What to Plan for in 2026

Several signals point to a busy 2026 for public-sector tech planning: telecom security upgrades, tight AI chip supply, reshuffles at major AI vendors, early quantum hardware, and a push to deploy AI robots to handle labor gaps.

Here's what matters for procurement, policy, and execution.

1) Trust and cybersecurity: Chunghwa Telecom's root certificate application

Chunghwa Telecom has applied to join the Google Chrome root certificate trust list after a governance upgrade. If approved, certificates issued under its root could be trusted by default across Chrome-based environments.

Why it matters: public networks, citizen services, and interagency systems rely on browser and OS trust stores. A new root in a major store can change your risk, procurement, and compliance posture overnight.

• Ask vendors which roots their TLS and code-signing chains depend on.
• Require Certificate Transparency logging and clear incident response terms.
• Document pinning/mTLS strategies so you can rotate quickly if a root status changes.

Reference policy: Chromium Root Program.

2) AI hardware: demand spikes, long lead times, higher costs

Reports indicate stronger China demand for Nvidia's H200 and a push for more TSMC capacity through 2026. Packaging like CoWoS remains a bottleneck, and vendors have signaled early-2026 GPU price hikes driven by memory costs.

What to do now:

• Forecast accelerator needs across agencies for 18-24 months; place staged orders.
• Use cloud GPU commitments as a hedge against on-prem delays.
• Benchmark alt options (AMD, specialized accelerators, or CPU+RAM scale-out) for certain workloads.
• Prioritize models that run efficiently on smaller footprints for edge and field use.

3) Platform strategy: leadership shifts at major AI vendors

Leadership changes tied to Microsoft's AI group and a new OpenAI agreement set the tone for 2025-2026. Expect product unifications, licensing tweaks, and faster release cycles.

• Include model-change and data residency clauses in new contracts.
• Standardize on evaluation tests for accuracy, safety, and bias across model updates.
• Maintain a fallback model catalog so services keep running if a vendor changes terms or capacity.

4) Quantum signals: early equipment orders and what to do about it

South Korea's SDT is eyeing larger orders for quantum-related equipment as data centers assess QPUs. Production use is still niche, but crypto exposure is real.

• Kick off Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) migration planning this fiscal year.
• Inventory where your systems use RSA/ECC, then map to draft PQC replacements.
• Pilot PQC in internal services before external citizen-facing rollouts.

Helpful starting point: NIST PQC project.

5) Edge AI and IPC: growth with operational risk

Industrial PCs (IPC) with on-device AI are set to grow in 2026 for transportation, utilities, and public safety. The trade-off: more models at the edge means more updates, more drift, and more attack surface in OT environments.

• Adopt signed model packages with provenance checks and staged rollouts.
• Separate control planes: keep inference local, but manage policy and updates centrally.
• Budget for field calibration, sensor maintenance, and retraining data pipelines.

6) Labor shortages: Taiwan backs AI robots for essential services

Taiwan is advancing AI robotics to ease labor shortages confirmed by a national study. Expect pilots in healthcare support, eldercare, and logistics where staffing gaps are hardest to fill.

• Focus pilots on repetitive, high-volume tasks with clear safety boundaries.
• Define human-in-the-loop procedures and escalation rules before deployment.
• Set procurement specs for serviceability, battery safety, and fall detection if used in care settings.
• Measure outcomes in minutes saved, error reduction, and citizen satisfaction-not novelty.

Procurement checklist for the next 90 days

• Certificates: verify trust store dependencies; add CT and incident terms to new contracts.
• AI chips: place staggered orders; secure cloud options; validate alt accelerators.
• AI platforms: add model-switch and data-location clauses; standardize eval tests.
• Quantum: start PQC inventory and migration planning; run a small pilot.
• Edge AI: implement signed model delivery; plan retraining and field support.
• Robotics: pick one high-impact pilot; define safety and maintenance standards.

Upskilling your team

If your agency is building AI capacity, curated training by job role helps speed things up. See options here: AI courses by job.

Bottom line: move early on security and supply constraints, pilot where the value is obvious, and write contracts that give you room to switch when the market shifts.