Opinion | How Hong Kong’s AI data guidelines can help firms embrace the future
- The model framework can help companies adopting AI stay compliant with regulations, manage risks and save costs
About 41 per cent of Hong Kong companies are applying or planning to apply AI technologies, according to a study released in March by the Hong Kong Productivity Council and the Hong Kong Institute of Economics and Business Strategy at the University of Hong Kong’s Business School. It found that the average investment in AI is HK$830,000 (US$106,300).
Organisations are increasingly using AI to help in tasks from identifying new compounds for medical treatment and making investment choices to analysing consumer behaviour and delivering tailored content to customers. Employees are also embracing the convenience offered by AI-powered personal assistants, such as the automation of routine tasks.
I don’t need to look into a crystal ball to believe that many aspects of our lives will, to some extent, become AI-assisted, if not entirely AI-driven. It is beyond dispute that the era of AI has arrived, and that AI will fundamentally reshape our future.
But for AI to be a positive game-changer, safety is an essential consideration. As Premier Li Qiang put it at the recent World Economic Forum annual meeting: “Like other technologies, AI is a double-edged sword. If it is applied well, it can do good and bring opportunities to the progress of human civilisation and provide great impetus to the industrial and scientific revolution.”