On July 28th, TECO in Chicago and Crain’s Chicago Business co-presented the second webcast in the “Taiwan-US Business Forum in the Midwest - Select Chicago, Select Taiwan” series. The theme of the webcast was Global Supply Chains: AI and the Health and Fitness Industry, which focused on the application of AI in the health and sports industry and how to strengthen the cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. Midwest so that the use of AI in the emerging fields of health and sports industries can conform to the values of democracy and human rights shared by Taiwan and the United States.
The webcast was hosted by Jim Kirk, group publisher and executive editor of Crain's Chicago Business, with opening remarks by Director General Johnson Chiang of TECO in Chicago and Congresswoman Robin Kelly of Illinois. Webcast panelists featured Jay Ablondi, vice president of global products, The Global Health and Fitness Association (IHRSA); Ken Lousberg, CEO of SRAM LLC, a Chicago-based bicycle component manufacturer; and Jackie Wu, CEO of LifeSpan America.
U.S. Representative Robin Kelly said that the COVID-19 pandemic “revealed shocking vulnerabilities in the global supply chain” and the United States can never again allow itself to be unable to obtain life-saving PPE for people on the front-lines in a severe pandemic. Representative Kelly emphasized that in order to strengthen supply chains and solve the microchip shortage problem, the United States must strengthen cooperation between government and the private sector; strengthen transportation and logistics infrastructure; better coordinate procurement, distribution, and warehousing through a risk approach and incentives; and enrich the talent pool to develop new solutions. It is also necessary to strengthen cooperation with like-minded allies, such as working with Taiwan to solve the shortage of chips.
Director General Johnson Chiang said that, with the increase of AI technology in health and fitness equipment, such as facial recognition, biometrics, predictive analysis, and data fusion, “we must ensure that our common values are in place to protect personal privacy and human rights, while growing our businesses at the same time.” On these points, the United States is considered Taiwan’s most like-minded partner, and Chicago, Illinois and the Midwest are a ‘land of opportunity’ for Taiwan and the region’s businesses to “advance our mutual common interests and values” of freedom and democracy.
Director General Chiang especially thanked Congresswoman Kelly for her efforts to safeguard the core values of human rights and democracy and to promote economic cooperation between Illinois and Taiwan.
The “Taiwan-US Business Forum in the Midwest - Select Chicago, Select Taiwan” series will conclude on August 17th with Global Supply Chains: Fasteners, Hardware and the Automobile Industry as its theme. Information will be updated and released in the near future. All are welcome to register for the free online seminar.
Watch the July 28th webcast:
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/events/webcast-archive
