Hong Kong’s pivot to hi-tech development gets boost as city hosts global AI summit Hong Kong took another big step in its journey to become an international tech hub on Friday, as the city basked in its inaugural turn as host of a summit under the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC). In his video address to the conference held in the Hong Kong Science Park, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said: “We must harness the power of AI, not just to innovate, but to build – to build more inclusive economies, more resilient communities and a more sustainable future for all.” “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 supports Hong Kong’s development into an international innovation and technology centre, as well as an international hub for high-calibre talent.” “Central to this vision is our commitment to advancing the development of AI,” Lee said, as he pointed out the city’s world-class research, strategic infrastructure and dynamic open market. Hong Kong’s turn to host an event under WAIC, the main conference held annually in Shanghai since 2018, reflected Beijing’s confidence in the city’s strategic development goals. “Today’s conference is not only a milestone, but also a new starting point,” said Hendrick Sin, a Hong Kong deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress. He said at the event that the WAIC organisers had committed to hold the summit annually in Hong Kong. The city’s Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Sun Dong, noted that all economies around the world recognised AI’s strategic importance. “Under the unique advantages of ‘one country, two systems’, Hong Kong was also seizing this AI moment,” he said. “With a focus on ‘strengthening infrastructure and promoting the application-oriented approach’, Hong Kong is steadily advancing a series of AI initiatives.” He said the Hong Kong government had funded the establishment of 16 research and development laboratories focused on AI and robotics. The city last month inaugurated its side of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, which Lee described at the event as a “world-class hub for technological innovation that connects the mainland with the international community”. That development would enable “AI projects to rapidly progress from fundamental research in Hong Kong, to commercialisation and large-scale application in the broader market”, Lee said. The audience at Friday’s WAIC event also heard remarks from Piero Scaruffi, director of the Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, and Steve Hoffman, CEO of Silicon Valley incubator Founders Space, as well as top local academics including Guo Yike, provost of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. At the main WAIC conference in July last year, keynote speeches were delivered by Chinese premier Li Qiang as well as Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as the “Godfather of AI”, in his first visit to the mainland. https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3340211/hong-kongs-pivot-hi-tech-development-gets-boost-city-hosts-global-ai-summit (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post