Hong Kong’s technology minister Sun Dong has stated that the government currently has no plans to employ the AI-based chatbot service ChatGPT for internal use. The minister cited potential risks, limited access, and privacy concerns for the city as the main factors for this decision. Despite the debate surrounding ChatGPT and other AI-based tools, Sun said that authorities were keeping a close eye on their development and potential opportunities that they can bring.
China’s internet watchdog recently proposed regulations in an attempt to reign in rapid development related to AI-based tools. Furthermore, the Hong Kong government is now in the process of establishing a task force to further examine and decide on the need for implementing additional regulations related to such technology.
The ChatGPT service was developed by OpenAI and launched only a few months ago. Once released the software attracted millions of users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history. It is quickly becoming the primary way of communication as it can produce responses on topics relating to politics, literature, sports, science and more due to it being trained with massive amounts of data.
Despite its popularity, many countries and educational institutions have banned its use due to the potential ethical questions and privacy issues that it raises. Singapore, for instance, plans to work on an improved productivity tool for its civil servants that are based on ChatGPT technology. On the other hand, the University of Hong Kong and Baptist University have temporarily banned their students from using the software until they can further discuss the implications.
OpenAI is a San Francisco-based non-profit research laboratory founded by Elon Musk and Sam Altman. The company is dedicated to creating beneficial artificial general intelligence (AGI) and has publicly listed its mission as “Making artificial general intelligence (AGI) open and ethical for the benefit of all humanity”. OpenAI’s research seeks to answer questions such as “What should intelligence be for?” and “How do we ensure AI is beneficial and safe for all?”. The company has partnerships with a broad range of corporate partners, and has launched applications such as GPT-3, PPL and GPipe that pursue its mission of creating intelligent systems that benefit all.
Sun Dong is the Hong Kong’s Secretary for Innovation, Technology, and Industry, and has held a number of influential positions in the government, primarily helping to facilitate the spread of I&T in the region. Sun has been a long-term supporter of innovation and technology and has called on members of the industry to join forces to further promote the field. The technology minister has gone on record confirming Hong Kong has no plans to formally introduce ChatGPT for internal government use, stating potential risks associated with the software and access concerns.
