摘要
- 邊緣人工智慧正逐步成為人工智慧應用的下一階段，將人工智慧推向更接近數據產生及決策執行的場景。
- 推理工作負載持續增加，加上自動化趨勢及對即時處理的需求，正推動邊緣人工智慧迅速成長。
- 隨着人工智慧普及至日常設備及機器，亞洲在邊緣人工智慧價值鏈各環節的領先優勢，帶來具吸引力的投資機會。
人工智慧的發展已不再局限於數據中心及雲端基礎建設，其應用日益融入日常裝置及機器，帶動邊緣人工智慧興起，讓運算在更貼近數據產生的場景進行，從而提升應用的處理速度及反應能力。
從智能手機、手提電腦，以至工業設備及自主系統，邊緣人工智慧使裝置能夠在本地處理數據並實時回應。因此，現實世界的系統正變得更智能化及更高效，自動化程度也持續提高。
邊緣人工智慧相當適合需要及時決策及本地處理的應用，而雲端則繼續提供訓練及部署愈趨先進的人工智慧模型所需的規模、儲存容量及運算能力。邊緣人工智慧並非用來取代雲端，而是延伸雲端的能力，兩者互相配合，共同支援不斷擴展的人工智慧應用範圍。
邊緣人工智慧的成長動力何在？
除了縮短延遲外，邊緣人工智慧也可在網絡連接受限的環境提升可靠性，而將敏感的消費者及政府數據保留在更接近來源的位置，或可加強私隱及安全。隨着人工智慧監管框架演變，這方面的重要性也日益提升。成本也是另一項重要考量。並非所有人工智慧任務均需要數據中心的運算能力，直接在裝置上運行較小型模型能減少頻寬需求、降低耗電量及提高效率。
隨着人工智慧市場由訓練轉向推理，邊緣人工智慧的經濟效益逐步浮現。由於每次使用人工智慧均涉及推理，若單靠集中式雲端基建來支援每日數以十億計的互動，成本將愈來愈高。大型數據中心也需要大量電力、水及冷卻能力，引發對永續發展及資源效益的關注。
採用邊緣人工智慧的原因也不止於技術優勢。人口老化、勞工短缺及提升生產力的需要等結構性挑戰，正推動各產業加快採用自動化技術。與此同時，數據量正迅速增加，而所需決策的數量龐大，逐漸超出人類的處理能力。邊緣人工智慧賦予設備及機器大規模自主分析資訊並採取行動的能力，有助於彌補這方面的差距。
邊緣人工智慧哪個市場領域成長迅速？
圖1：全球邊緣人工智慧市場規模，按組成部分劃分（預測至2023年）
資料來源：Grandview Research，2025年
預期亞洲將成為成長最快的邊緣人工智慧市場。該地區具備完善的半導體及電子生態系統，邊緣人工智慧在智能手機、汽車、工廠及電訊網絡的應用也不斷擴大。對智能製造、機器人技術、5G及互聯基建的持續投資，正進一步加快邊緣人工智慧在中國、日本及韓國的部署。
亞洲在邊緣人工智慧領域發揮什麼作用？
邊緣人工智慧將人工智慧的投資機會由數據中心及雲端基建擴展至更廣泛的科技價值鏈，涵蓋設備製造商、半導體企業、記憶體供應商、工業自動化公司及網絡供應商。
亞洲具備獨特優勢，有望受惠於邊緣人工智慧的發展。該地區生產大量支援邊緣人工智慧的晶片、記憶體、感應器及電子零件，同時也是智能手機、電動車、工業自動化及智能製造的重要市場。這種製造實力與終端市場需求兼備的優勢，帶來具吸引力的投資機會。
圖2：亞洲受惠於邊緣人工智慧價值鏈各環節，涵蓋零件以至消費者
現今的邊緣人工智慧應用主要透過提升現有裝置的智能程度、運行速度及反應能力來增強效能，但人工智慧演進的下一階段將更進一步，人工智慧系統將由單純協助用戶，逐步發展至能夠與實體世界互動並採取行動。
這一轉變催生了實體人工智慧的發展——機器人、自主機器及智能系統必須實時感知、推理及採取行動，這些能力只有透過邊緣人工智慧才能實現。因此，對投資人而言，了解邊緣人工智慧之所以重要，不僅因為其本身具備成長潛力，更因為其為人工智慧革命的下一階段奠定技術基礎。
本文是五篇系列文章的第四篇，該系列探討人工智慧技術週期，以及其在發展及趨向成熟過程中產生的亞洲投資機遇。
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