As geopolitical tensions reshape research priorities worldwide, theTang Prize Foundation on April 30 published a report arguing that artificial intelligence has become one of the biggest complicating factors in solving the problems it is also supposed to help fix.
The Taipei-based foundation — which hands out biennial awards across sustainable development, biopharmaceutical science, sinology, and rule of law — released what it calls a "global issues" assessment ahead of its next laureate announcement, scheduled for mid-June.
CEO Chern Jenn-chuan pointed to a widening set of compounding crises: ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and the Russo-Ukrainian War continue to disrupt global energy supplies; extreme weather events are becoming more frequent; and AI, while speeding up drug discovery and biotech innovation, is simultaneously driving up energy consumption in ways that complicate the transition away from fossil fuels. "Addressing these complex global problems requires the collective wisdom of humanity and interdisciplinary knowledge," he said.
The report lists ten priority issues for 2026. AI governance appears twice — once as a standalone challenge, once folded into the energy transition problem — a sign of how thoroughly the technology has disrupted adjacent fields.
The Tang Prize Selection Committee, now in its fourteenth year, has recognized 39 laureates across six award cycles, including three NGOs. Chern argued that the issues dominating 2026 — climate, energy, gene editing, AI regulation — map closely onto the research fields the prize has been tracking since its founding.
Past laureates, present stakes
On the biomedical side, the foundation points to recent work by two of its own past honorees.Feng Zhang, recognized in 2016 for helping develop CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, is now at MIT working on a vaccine platform that combines mRNA with lipid nanoparticles — the same delivery system behind COVID-19 shots — with the goal of reversing age-related immune decline.Tasuku Honjo, the 2014 laureate whose PD-1 discovery underpinned modern cancer immunotherapy, has begun Phase I trials in Australia for a drug targeting overactive immune responses in autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.
Sinology as soft diplomacy
The report's treatment of sinology — the academic study of Chinese civilization — carries an unmistakably geopolitical undertone. With U.S.-China relations deteriorating and cross-strait tensions unresolved, the foundation argues that scholarly understanding of Chinese history and culture offers a form of diplomacy that official channels cannot. Whether academic prizes can meaningfully influence state behavior is a question the report leaves open.
About the Tang Prize
The Tang Prize was founded in 2012 by Taiwanese billionaire Samuel Yin and positions itself as filling gaps left by the Nobel Prizes, particularly in areas like climate policy and rule of law. Each award carries NT$50 million (approximately US$1.7 million), with a portion reserved for research outreach. Thirty-nine laureates have been named since the first ceremony in 2014. （Related： Taiwan Semiconductor Output to Hit $222 Billion in 2026, Powered by AI Chips and HBM ｜ Latest ）
The 2026 winners will be announced June 15–18, one category per day.
