Recently, Hong Kong’s former financial secretary and renowned figure, John Tsang Chun-wah, shed light on the city’s current educational system that hinders creativity and innovative development. Tsang criticized the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) examinations as “shackles that hinder innovation and creativity” of Hong Kong’s young generation. He suggested high school students be given the opportunity to study in university regardless of qualification and the current examinations system be replaced with more options.
Furthermore, Tsang welcomed the application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and promoted its usage among the younger populace. He noted the role of gatekeeper for a teacher, who can monitor and evaluate the course work done by a student by means of AI tools. He described the universities’ ban on AI-generating tools as a “prohibition” and compared to it “not allowing students to use calculators”.
The education universities in Hong Kong have varying policies when it comes to AI tools. The University of Hong Kong is the first to publicly ban its usage. The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have their own policies and the Education University of Hong Kong encourages the use of AI tools.
OpenAI was founded by tech investors, including Moskovitz, Hassabis, Altman, and Musk, as a non-profit AI research lab. It focuses on artificial general intelligence in a safe and responsible way with the help of powerful technologies like ChatGPT, which enables machines to converse with humans using natural language processing. The company also provides enterprise services, such as OpenAI API, GPT-3, and more.
John Tsang, who served as financial secretary of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2017, is known for his active leadership on innovation and technology development all around the world. Since then, he allowed himself to believe in promoting start-ups, and social innovation. He is also a city advisor and District Councillor in the Southern District of Hong Kong island.
In conclusion, John Tsang urged for the introduction of artificial intelligence technology as part of Hong Kong’s educational reform, emphasizing the need for creativity, innovation, and critical thinking for the city’s younger generation. On top of that, Tsang also encouraged allowing high school students to have the opportunity to study in universities. Considering the growing risk of global competition, it is essential for Hong Kong to stay ahead of the game in the future by embracing progressive technologies like AI.
