Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the AI Action Summit 2025 - AI STR (Safety, Trust, and Responsibility) Forum organised by Cyberport and the World Digital Technology Academy (WDTA) and the International Academicians Science & Technology Innovation Centre today (February 27):

尊敬的葉副部長 (Deputy Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Ye Shuiqiu), Professor Li (Executive Chairman of the WDTA, Professor Yale Li), Professor Chan (Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Academician of the WDTA, Professor C C Chan), Simon (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Mr Simon Chan), Rocky (Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Dr Rocky Cheng), Tony (Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Tony Wong), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

     ​Good morning. I am delighted to join you all today at AI STR Forum, jointly organised by Cyberport and the World Digital Technology Academy. 
 
     The Forum today will immerse into exciting discussions on AI and the associated safety, trust and responsibility issues. Undoubtedly, AI is the most pivotal engine of scientific, economic and social advancements around the globe.

     ​In Hong Kong, we attach great importance and devote significant resources to driving AI on various fronts. AI and data science is one of our development focus areas as underscored in the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint promulgated in December 2022. Echoing the nation’s "AI+" initiative and strategic direction to cultivate new quality productive forces and build a globally competitive digital industry cluster, Hong Kong is taking steps to consolidate our strengths and capitalise on the emerging opportunities in AI research, innovation and application.
 
     To provide the most conducive environment for AI development, Cyberport, being Hong Kong's digital tech hub, established the AI Supercomputing Centre (AISC) last year, which will provide high-performance computing power of 3 000 petaFLOPS to support impactful R&D (research and development) projects on AI.
 
     The Government is also subsidising users of Cyberport’s AISC, through the $3 billion AI Subsidy Scheme, to make the much sought-after computing power more accessible. This financial assistance already benefits local R&D projects on large language models (LLM), material science and environmental assessment that will break new ground of AI.
 
     Let's not forget our InnoHK research clusters. A total of 16 AI and robotics-specific research centres are set up under AIR@InnoHK, including the Hong Kong Generative AI Research and Development Center (HKGAI) which focuses on generative AI technologies. The HKGAI is now running at full steam in developing a Hong Kong-based LLM and a generative AI document processing copilot application together with a few application tools. The latter is now being used internally by government bureaus and departments on a pilot basis to handle tasks such as document drafting, translation and summary.
 
     This long list would go incomplete without mentioning our latest endeavour, as announced yesterday by the Financial Secretary in the 2025-26 Budget, to establish the Hong Kong AI R&D Institute. A dedicated, public mission-driven undertaking, the institute will spearhead AI development and industry application in Hong Kong, promote cross-sectoral collaboration, and add another exciting chapter in our AI history book.
 
     As we navigate in the boundless realms of AI, we are mindful of the safety, responsibility and trust issues that beset AI explorers and users. We could only harness the full power and potential of AI by addressing these contentious issues proactively. The Forum and the wise men here with us today will give much insights into these hot topics. I look forward to the exchanges and the food for thought.
 
     In closing, I wish the Forum a great success and every one of you the most fruitful and inspiring sharing. Thank you.

Ends/Thursday, February 27, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:20

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