Hong Kong’s financial secretary tells WAIC that city has a key role to play in China’s AI development
- Chan told the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai that Hong Kong has advantages when it comes to attracting talent
- City’s financial secretary said Hong Kong’s push into fintech offers experiences and lessons for China and the world to develop AI
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has said that the city can contribute to China’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology development by providing talent and funding.
Chan told the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Thursday that Hong Kong has advantages when it comes to attracting talent in the current geopolitical landscape. WAIC is an annual event organised by the Chinese government to showcase its AI ambition to the world.
“The talent from enterprises that researches and develops AI is [what] we want to absorb,” said Chan. “Our universities have brought together scientific researchers from the mainland and around the world, and the Hong Kong government has given a lot of policy and financial support in the past few years.”
Chan pointed to SenseTime, China’s leading facial recognition AI firm, as an example of Hong Kong’s role in growing AI ventures. SenseTime was founded by a group of computer scientists including Chinese University of Hong Kong professor Sean Tang Xiaoou and alumnus Xu Li, and is listed in the city.
