The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Outline of the National 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly calls for empowering economic and social development through artificial intelligence (AI). The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has also incorporated the proactive advancement of the "AI+" strategy into the consultation document for Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan, ensuring that AI development is "running fast" and "running steadily". 

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Secretariat today (August 21) released the latest issue of the Policy Pulse on "AI+: Empower Hong Kong, Innovate a smart future", which provides an overview of Hong Kong's policy initiatives on "AI+", covering empowering industrial development and construction of a digital government through AI, expanding AI application scenarios through embodied AI, establishing a robust AI governance framework, promoting AI training for all, and deepening the collaborative mechanism between Hong Kong and the Mainland. It also summarizes the relevant suggestions of Members. This issue of the Policy Pulse also features a new "One-Tap Audio" function. Members of the public can choose to listen to the entire issue, selected sections or a summary of the Policy Pulse through an AI voice, so as to stay updated on the latest LegCo information in a flexible way.

     This issue of the Policy Pulse details how Hong Kong is pursuing the dual objectives of placing equal emphasis on "speed" and "steadiness" in its strategic layout for advancing AI development. The Government is now moving at full speed to advance AI infrastructure development, including accelerating the development of the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster (the Cluster). It is expected that the computing power provided by the Cluster by 2032 would be equivalent to 36 times Hong Kong's current computing power. Furthermore, the Government is making every effort to strengthen cross-sector collaboration among the industry, academia and research sectors, thereby promoting transformation of research and development (R&D) outcomes, and fostering wide application of AI technology in various industries. Meanwhile, the Committee on AI+ and Industry Development Strategy, which was announced in the Budget this year, was established in June. It will initially focus on the application strategies in sectors such as embodied AI as well as life and health technology. International rankings have also confirmed that Hong Kong is "running fast": ranked third in the Global AI Competitiveness Index and climbed to fourth globally in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking.

     Concurrently, Members have been offering recommendations to further accelerate the development of AI, suggesting that the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute (AIRDI), which will come into operation in the second half of this year, should strengthen co-ordination efforts regarding the division of work and integration of resources among universities and local R&D institutions; and foster collaboration with the Mainland in areas such as standard certification and data flow, so as to align with the national "AI+" strategy. Members also suggest establishing a cross-boundary computing power sharing mechanism. As to empowering smart governance via AI, Members urge the Administration to expand the application of the Digital Document function on "iAM Smart" and integrate mobile applications of different government departments to realize "single portal for online government services". 

     To "run steadily", the Government has launched the "AI for All" Inclusive Programme to comprehensively enhance digital literacy across society. It also regularly reviews AI risks, its safe application and governance standards, and has developed a framework and guidelines to provide guidance on projects involving the development and application of AI to help identify and manage potential risks to ensure that AI development remains safe, reliable and controllable. Members are concerned over the regulation of AI-generated content, including issues of deepfake pornography, disinformation and online impersonation. They suggest the Government draw on experiences of the Mainland and other countries to study the enactment of dedicated legislation targeting AI-generated content and strengthen the regulation of online platforms.

     The Policy Pulse also details how Hong Kong is deepening the collaboration with the Mainland in the field of AI, pointing out that Hong Kong, leveraging the unique advantages under "one country, two systems" and its internationalised data governance and scientific research capabilities, acts as a "super connector" and plays the role of a "super value-adder". Hong Kong also connects with the Mainland's vast computing resources and rich application scenarios, and serves as a bridgehead for "bringing in and going global" in AI technological innovation and industrial application. Members suggest that the Government collaborate with the relevant units to jointly develop an AI repository for enterprises seeking to go global, providing them with market insights and compliance guidance. They also suggest the Administration proactively strive for implementing more convenient and freer cross-boundary data flow mechanisms in the Northern Metropolis to facilitate R&D collaborations among frontier industries, such as embodied AI.

     The detailed content of "AI+: Empower Hong Kong, Innovate a smart future" can be viewed or listened to on the LegCo website. The Policy Pulse, published by the Council Business Divisions of the LegCo Secretariat, covers specific topics and offers a comprehensive overview of related policy developments and relevant discussions in LegCo.

Ends/Friday, August 21, 2026
Issued at HKT 17:26

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