2025 AI and Youth Empowerment International Forum Highlights Taiwan's Leadership in Responsible AI

Young people encouraged to develop AI applications and participate in governance to become Asia's leaders in responsible AI

TAIPEI, Dec. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2025 AI and Youth Empowerment International Forum, co-hosted by NOWNEWS Crossroad, EdYouth Taiwan Education Association and the Taiwan Youth Generation for Good Association, was held at the Grand Hilai Taipei. The event featured the presentation of awards and scholarships to the winning teams of the Youth Proposal Competition.

This year's competition received dozens of submissions covering topics such as mental health, AI technology, cultural heritage, gender equality, traffic safety, sustainable education, green mobility, and inclusive cities. First place was awarded to "Three Isles, Budding Voices" from National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), comprising Chung Xin-ai, Chiang Hui-ling, and Tsai Wen-ching. Their project, the "Five-Senses Food and Agriculture Exploration Box," integrates taste, play, and learning to help young children discover local Taiwanese ingredients through hands-on sensory activities.

The forum also welcomed U.S. Gen Z cybersecurity leader Kyla Guru, who delivered a keynote titled "The Age of AI Revolution: If You Can Prompt It, You Can Build It."

More than 500 participants, including students, local officials, legislators, educational foundations and academic experts — attended, highlighting the growing role of Taiwan's youth in innovation and civic engagement in the AI era.

The forum featured a keynote address from Gen Z cybersecurity leader Kyla Guru, who spoke on "The Age of AI Revolution: If You Can Prompt It, You Can Build It." Guru highlighted Taiwan's unique position in the AI industry, noting that the country produces 90% of the world's chips and that TSMC powers 67% of global AI data infrastructure. She outlined Taiwan's ambitious targets: training 200,000 AI professionals, investing NT$10 billion in AI, and achieving NT$1 trillion in AI output by 2026. "Who will create these outputs? You will," Guru told the audience.

Guru also introduced a practical framework for responsible AI usage, emphasizing that AI should be a learning partner or co-founder, not a substitute for human creativity or leadership. She encouraged young people to cultivate distinctively human qualities—creativity, critical thinking, contextual intelligence, empathy, and kindness.

During the Q&A session, youth representative Ted Lu inquired about adapting to the new era of digital learning. Guru advised leveraging AI to critique reasoning and reveal blind spots. She also addressed the issue of AI bias, stressing the need for critical analysis and improvement of training data to avoid reinforcing stereotypes.

A panel discussion followed, featuring Legislator Ju-chun Ko, Peng-Sin Ye from the Hon Hai Education Foundation, Professor Min-Chun Hu of National Tsing Hua University, and youth representative Ted Lu. The panel explored topics such as AI education, cybersecurity, gender equality, and technological democracy. Panelists called for Taiwan to capitalize on its semiconductor strengths to advance AI literacy, establish ethical standards, reinforce cybersecurity, and promote inclusive participation in AI governance.

About NOWNEWS

Launched in April 2008, NOWNEWS is Taiwan's first native-born digital news platform and has become one of the most influential Chinese-language media brands. Since 2019, NOWNEWS has organized annual Cross-Generation Forums focusing on youth participation and public policy.

SOURCE Nownews