TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has seen an additional 3,000 of its employees take holidays to work as volunteers during the past year, reports said Thursday (Dec. 14).

Part of their task was using artificial intelligence (AI) for the benefit of educating children in remote parts of Taiwan, said TSMC Charity Foundation Chair Sophie Chang (張淑芬), the wife of company founder Morris Chang (張忠謀).

During the past year, a total of 14,000 TSMC employees had taken volunteer holidays, per CNA. The policy started in July, with the number of factories across the country participating in the project expanding to 23 from 20, she said.

At a news conference explaining the foundation’s work, Chang also faced questions about her plans for February 2024. She denied she had scheduled a trip to Japan during that month, an indication that media reports about TSMC launching its fab in Kumamoto might have been premature.