Hong Kong will not be introducing chatbot software ChatGPT for internal government use, said the city’s Technology Minister Sun Dong, citing potential risks as well as limited access. The decision has been taken as authorities are keeping a close watch on the popular artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool given the potential opportunities and challenges it presents.
“We have noticed that some countries have banned the use of such tools due to concerns about privacy protection,” said Sun after attending the Digital Economy summit this Friday which was organised for promoting the innovation and technology (I&T) sector. “Considering the lack of access to ChatGPT and the potential risks involved, the Hong Kong government doesn’t plan to formally include it for internal use as of now.”
This statement comes after the Chinese internet regulator released draft regulations on AI-based tools. These regulations call for companies offering generative AI services to prevent discriminatory content, false information or anything that could breach individual privacy or intellectual property.
Technology Minister Sun has already indicated that Hong Kong would form a task force to analyze AI-based tools and decide on governing them with legislation. The city is also planning to develop its own chatbot service and consult the public on creating an AI supercomputing hub which will attract tech companies and talent.
ChatGPT gained instant popularity when it was first launched in November last year by OpenAI, a startup owned by Microsoft. Within two months, this AI-based tool reached the staggering number of 100 million users, making it the fastest growing consumer application ever. This software generates humanlike responses on a variety of topics like sports, science, politics and more through machine learning algorithms trained by huge amounts of information.
The impact of ChatGPT has been varied around the world. While a Singaporean government department is said to be developing a productivity tool based on this software; many institutions are actively discouraging its use. Hong Kong University and Baptist University temporarily banned ChatGPT in the face of looming threat of plagiarism.
Overall, while ChatGPT offers tremendous potential opportunities, it also has its fair share of challenges. How Hong Kong will regulate this software and leverage its potential, is still to be seen.
