Hong Kong should step up its efforts to become a "world-class" artificial intelligence (AI) city, actively participating in the nation’s AI technology advancements, officials and analysts said at a forum on generative AI governance and cultural co-creation organized by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) on Thursday.

The central government has just confirmed its support for Hong Kong “in building an international I&T (innovation and technology) center,” said Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong.

The Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development state that Hong Kong’s advantages in having the backing of the motherland while maintaining close connections with the rest of the world should be further leveraged. The recommendations also support Hong Kong’s ambitions to become an international innovation and technology center.

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The recommendations also state that AI is a key part of national development, and call for the AI‑Plus initiative to be advanced across the board, as the global AI market is flourishing. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the global AI market is expected to reach a value of about $4.8 trillion by 2033 — a 25-fold increase on where it currently stands.

“We are standing at the forefront of a global technological shift,” Sun said, adding that strong and adaptive governance is crucial to the development of a thriving AI ecosystem.

He said that this remarkable growth underscores the urgent need for economies around the world to formulate and implement policies that can balance AI’s immense potential with its underlying risks, and to ensure its sustainable and inclusive development.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has already established a dedicated AI Efficacy Enhancement Team to promote AI applications across government departments and explore the process re-engineering to elevate public services.

Guo Yike, a data scientist and provost of the HKUST, proposed transforming Hong Kong into a Chinese AI city that is closely connected to the world.

He said that Hong Kong is well-placed to capitalize on the mainland’s rapid development of AI ecosystems while retaining strong global connections.

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Guo added that the city’s comprehensive political and legal frameworks, robust government support, and multicultural environment, together with its distinctive innovation framework, reinforce its competitive edge.

According to Guo, the Hong Kong SAR government has been financing the establishment of research and development institutions aimed at developing regionally sovereign AI systems, ensuring sovereignty over data, models, and hardware.

This sovereign AI system will drive the transformation of public services in Hong Kong, including AI applications in data analysis, customer service, and document processing, he said.

Contact the writer at akirawang@chinadailyhk.com