Keynote speech by SITI at 2026 World Internet Conference Ministerial Meeting on "Working Together to Take a People-Centered Approach and Develop AI for the Positive and for Good" in Wuzhen (English only)(with photo)
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Distinguished ministers, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening. First of all, I would like to thank the World Internet Conference for convening this ministerial meeting. The theme before us - Working Together to Take a People-Centred Approach and Develop AI for the Positive and for Good, reflects our shared responsibility to harness the opportunities brought by artificial intelligence (AI) while ensuring that technological progress serves the well-being of people and society.
In Hong Kong, our First Five-Year Plan promulgated in September this year sets a clear target: to establish Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre rooted in the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area by 2030. In this process, infrastructure plays a crucial role. At present, Hong Kong's overall computing power has reached 5 000 PFLOPS (peta-floating point operations per second). We are in parallel constructing the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster in full speed so that it will provide 180 000 PFLOPS by 2032 - 36 times our current capacity. Meanwhile, our three major I&T parks - Cyberport, the Hong Kong Science Park, and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park - already host over a thousand AI-related enterprises and start-ups.
The HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) Government has also established the Committee on AI+ and Industry Development Strategy to facilitate AI-driven industrial transformation and promote co-ordination among the Government, industry, academia, research, investment and application sectors to foster the deep integration of AI with various industries. Apart from that, the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute will commence operation this year to co-ordinate downstream research, industry application and solution matching, driving the industrial application of AI.
A people-centred approach is equally important. To this end, we have launched the "AI for All" Inclusive Programme this summer to roll out training courses and activities through our quangos to promote AI awareness, enhance professional skills as well as competitiveness through AI.
We believe that AI should be developed for good purposes. While AI offers considerable opportunities, its rapid development also presents new challenges. The HKSAR Government therefore adopts an approach that encourages innovation while at the same time strengthening risk governance. We are taking forward a comprehensive AI risk-governance strategy, covering seven areas namely combating AI-related crime, strengthening protection for minors, promoting market assessment of AI ethical risks, promoting safe and orderly AI adoption across industries, studying legal liability for AI-related accidents, issuing guidelines for managing AI agents, and examining the employment impact of AI. These are not bureaucratic boxes to tick, but are in fact safeguards for our people who use AI for their business, research, study and their everyday life.
Our gathering here today for the WIC and this Ministerial Meeting is the testament to the importance of international collaboration in realising the full potential of AI. As a "super connector" and a "super value-adder", Hong Kong looks forward to more meaningful cross-cultural dialogue and practical collaboration with our partners around the world. Thank you.
Ends/Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Issued at HKT 21:15
Issued at HKT 21:15
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