In recent months, the introduction of ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, has caused disruption in the technology industry. While international giants were taken by surprise, Hong Kong has yet to appropriately respond to it. It is reflective of the city consistently lagging behind in its preparedness to adopt new technologies and its aversion to show innovation.
The University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University both went on to cite using ChatGPT in educational discourse without authorization as plagiarism in the current semester. This reflects an underlying inability to properly implement new technology, and as former Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah painfully succinctly put it, “The current education situation in Hong Kong is teachers of the 20th century using a curriculum from the 19th century to train students in the 21st century.”
The Hong Kong government has tried to take steps to address the issue with its proposed AI supercomputing centre and task force, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data surveillance of the risk of data leaks through AI, and the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau’s committee that includes industry representatives. However, while they have put the pieces in place, they have yet to come up with a plan to make Hong Kong a centre for AI development.
It is necessary for the HK government to publish a policy paper that outlines the potential benefits of AI and a strategy for putting it into practice. The industry also needs help when it comes to venture capital to fund these revolutionary ideas; HK must be willing to shoulder the risk in order to have a portion of success. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to establish a coordinating mechanism that brings together idea makers, both big and small, in the communications industry for more collaborative endeavors.
John Hanzhang Ye is a PhD student in science and technology history at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and an MPhil graduate in sociology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a staunch advocate of Hong Kong taking the necessary steps to build an AI industry based on its own needs, and also acts as an example of the city’s potential to produce talent capable of competing against the top tech experts across the world.
ChatGPT has the potential to create an AI revolution around the world, but Hong Kong cannot forego this opportunity and be left behind. The city must cultivate the environment and the mechanisms to embolden and strive for innovation. Only then can Hong Kong take its rightful place in the technological landscape.
