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As Storm Bebinca Approaches, Taiwan Uses AI to Predict Typhoon Paths 

Waves break against the protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches in Keelung, Taiwan July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Waves break against the protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches in Keelung, Taiwan July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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As Storm Bebinca Approaches, Taiwan Uses AI to Predict Typhoon Paths 

Waves break against the protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches in Keelung, Taiwan July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Waves break against the protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches in Keelung, Taiwan July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

As tropical storm Bebinca barrels towards waters off northern Taiwan gathering strength into a possible typhoon, weather forecasters in Taipei are using a new and so far successful method to help track its path - artificial intelligence (AI).

AI-generated forecasts, some powered by software from tech giants including Nvidia, whose chips are made by Taiwan's homegrown semiconductor champion TSMC, have so far outperformed traditional methods in predicting typhoon tracks.

In July, it was AI-based weather models, used for the first time, that helped Taiwan better predict the path and impact of Typhoon Gaemi, the strongest to strike the island in eight years that brought record-breaking rainfall.

The new technology impressed Taiwan forecasters by predicting a direct hit as early as eight days before Gaemi made landfall - handily outperforming conventional methods, which remain the mainstay of prediction planning.

"People are starting to realize AI indeed delivered some stunning performances compared to conventional models," said Chia Hsin-sing, director at the weather service provider Taiwan Integrated Disaster Prevention of Technology Engineering Consulting Company Ltd.

Bebinca is now being tracked using the same AI tools by people including Lin Ping-yu, a forecaster at Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA), who said AI has given them a higher degree of confidence there will not be a direct hit.

"This (AI) is a good thing for us. It is like having one more useful tool to use," said Lin.

The AI weather programs on offer include Nvidia's FourCastNet, Google's GraphCast and Huawei's Pangu-Weather, as well as a deep learning-based system by European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

"It is a hotly watched competition. We will know soon who is winning," said Chia.

Such AI models have also begun to be used to predict storms and hurricanes in other regions with good accuracy, according to forecasters and academics.

The AI-based software is trained using historical weather data to learn the cause and effect relationships of meteorological systems and can predict hundreds of weather variables days in advance - a process that requires only a few minutes to complete.

For all the typhoons in the Western Pacific this year up until mid-September, AI's accuracy in predicting storm tracks over a three-day window was nearly 20% higher than that of conventional models, according to data compiled by the CWA.

Ahead of Gaemi, AI helped the administration foresee an unusual loop in its path that prolonged its impact on Taiwan and prompted them to swiftly issue a rare warning for rainfall of 1.8 meters (5.9 feet), which was later proven accurate, according to CWA's deputy head Lu Kuo-Chen.

"(AI) boosted the confidence for forecasters to make that prediction," Lu said, adding the early warning gave extra time for authorities to carry out preparations.

Lu is also pinning hopes on a partnership with Nvidia, which this year announced a generative AI tool called CorrDiff that aims to forecast more precise locations of typhoon landfall and provide higher resolution images inside a storm.

"We are seeing the potential," Lu said.

For now, however, experts say the AI tools were not able to deliver quality forecasts for more detailed impact of a typhoon, such as its strength and winds, and more time is needed for the new technology to solidify its lead over more traditional ways.

"Was it just good luck?" said Chia, pointing to AI's stellar performance on Gaemi. "We need to give AI a bit more time. It is something to look forward to."

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Technology

The ‘Worst in Show’ CES Products Put Your Data at Risk and Cause Waste

The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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The ‘Worst in Show’ CES Products Put Your Data at Risk and Cause Waste

The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

So much of the technology showcased at CES includes gadgets made to improve consumers' lives — whether by leveraging AI to make devices that help people become more efficient, by creating companions to cure loneliness or by providing tools that help people with mental and physical health.
But not all innovation is good, according to a panel of self-described dystopia experts that has judged some products as “Worst in Show." The award that no company wants to win calls out the “least repairable, least private, and least sustainable products on display."
“We’re seeing more and more of these things that have basically surveillance technology built into them, and it enables some cool things,” Liz Chamberlain, director of sustainability at the e-commerce site iFixit told The Associated Press. “But it also means that now we’ve got microphones and cameras in our washing machines, refrigerators and that really is an industry-wide problem.”
The fourth annual contest announced its decisions Thursday.
A new smart ring every few years? Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, awarded the Ultrahuman Rare Luxury Smart Ring the title of “least repairable.”
The rings, which come in colors like dune and desert sand, cost $2,200. Wiens said the jewelry “looks sleek but hides a major flaw: its battery only lasts 500 charges.” Worse, he said, is the fact that replacing the battery is impossible without destroying the device entirely.
“Luxury items may be fleeting, but two years of use for $2,200 is a new low,” he said.
An AI-powered smart crib? Bosch’s “Revol” crib uses sensors, cameras and AI that the company says can help monitor vital signs like how an infant is sleeping, their heart and respiratory rates and more. The crib can also rock gently if the baby needs help falling asleep and signal to parents if a blanket or other object is interfering with breathing.
The company says users can how and where their data is stored. Bosch also says the crib can be transformed into a desk as children get older.
But EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn said the crib preys on parents' fears and “collects excessive data about babies via a camera, microphone, and even a radar sensor.”
“Parents expect safety and comfort — not surveillance and privacy risks — in their children’s cribs,” she said in the report.
Too much waste? Although AI is everywhere at CES, Stacey Higginbotham, a policy Fellow at Consumer Reports, felt that SoundHound AI’s In-Car Commerce Ecosystem, powered by its Automotive AI, pushes it to unnecessary extremes.
The feature “increases energy consumption, encourages wasteful takeout consumption and distracts drivers—all while adding little value,” Higginbotham said. That landed the in-car system as “least sustainable” on the list.
Vulnerable to hacking TP-Link's Archer BE900 router won for “least secure” of CES. The company is a top-selling router brand in the US But its products are vulnerable to hacking, said Paul Roberts, founder of The Security Ledger.
"By Chinese law, TP-Link must report security flaws to the government before alerting the public, creating a significant national security risk," he said. “Yet TP-Link showcased its Archer BE900 router at CES without addressing these vulnerabilities.”
Who asked for this? The awards also feature a category called “who asked for this?” Top of that list was Samsung's Bespoke AI Washing Machine, which Nathan Proctor, senior director of US PIRG, a consumer advocacy group, said is filled “with features no one needs,” including the ability to make phone calls.
“These add-ons only make the appliance more expensive, fragile, and harder to repair,” he said.
The worst overall Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association called the LG “AI Home Inside 2.0 Refrigerator with ThinkQ” the worst product overall. The fridge adds “flashy features,” Gordon-Byrne said, including a screen and internet connection.
“But these come at a cost,” Gordon-Byrne said. “Shorter software support, higher energy consumption, and expensive repairs reduce the fridge’s practical lifespan, leaving consumers with an expensive, wasteful gadget.”