Opinion

Hong Kong’s supercomputing centre plans must be strategic to succeed

As Hong Kong looks to set up an AI supercomputing centre, it must watch out for construction costs, define the goals of the project clearly and ensure the city has enough local talent to realise its potential

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A view of Kowloon at night in 2020. Hong Kong’s budget this year proposes to study the feasibility of setting up an AI supercomputing centre to promote scientific research. Photo: Sam Tsang

Dr Winnie Tang JP is an adjunct professor in the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong.

Published: 6:15am, 12 Mar 2023

Computing power has become a core driver of the development of the digital economy. The white paper on China’s computing power development index released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology in November last year estimates that every yuan invested in computing power would increase economic output by three to four yuan.

Moreover, computing power has a significant correlation with gross domestic product. Of the top 20 countries by computing power in 2021, 17 are among the top 20 economies in the world. The top five countries by GDP – the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom – were also the top five in terms of computing power.

Hong Kong’s budget this year proposes to study the feasibility of establishing an artificial intelligence supercomputing centre to promote AI development and scientific research. The study will be completed by 2024. For the plan to succeed, the government should have two major considerations: the positioning of the centre and talent training.