Sun Dong: The establishment of the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research Institute is beneficial for the construction of the ecosystem and promotes the integrated development of technology and industry.

On July 14th, Professor Sun Dong, the Secretary for Innovation and Technology of Hong Kong, spoke about the establishment of the Hong Kong AI Research Institute, stating that if the institute is set up, it will play a leading role, with a public mission as its foundation and Hong Kong's overall interests as its guiding principle. It will be responsible for promoting and coordinating the integrated development of AI in Hong Kong, driving collaboration between government, industry, academia, research, and investment to enhance the AI ecosystem in Hong Kong. Professor Sun stated that AI is the core of accelerating the cultivation of new productive forces, a technological revolution that must be embraced and a battleground for all major economic systems. The "Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint" released at the end of 2022 has highlighted the key development of AI. Following the top-level layout of the blueprint, Hong Kong has introduced a series of measures to support the development of AI in recent years, promoting the research, application, governance, infrastructure, and ecosystem of AI in Hong Kong in an orderly manner. With increasingly fierce international AI competition and complex and changing geopolitics, Hong Kong is at a crucial point in AI development and must stand firm and break through. To consolidate the current good momentum and meet the needs of Hong Kong's development, aligning with the national strategy of "AI+", the 2025-26 fiscal budget proposed the establishment of the research institute to guide and support the innovation and development of AI in Hong Kong, promote the transformation of research results in the upstream, midstream, and downstream, and explore application scenarios. Professor Sun suggested that the main public functions of the research institute include: (1) advancing cutting-edge research in key areas of AI in Hong Kong; (2) promoting the integration of AI technology and industry development, accelerating the transformation of scientific research results, empowering various industries to achieve high-quality development; (3) providing recommendations to the government to support the development of AI; (4) promoting international exchanges and attracting world-class talents; and (5) enhancing understanding of AI and talent training to promote widespread application of AI. He pointed out that the research institute's role in AI research, result transformation, and deployment differs from that of existing research institutions, universities, or businesses. The authorities hope that the research institute will become the core engine driving the development of AI in Hong Kong, integrating and strengthening the work, resource allocation, and efficiency of AI in Hong Kong. He stated that if supported by the commission members, he will further deepen the recommendations and execution details, striving to seek approval from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council for the allocated HK$1 billion in this fiscal year, to quickly initiate the establishment of the research institute, including setting up the company, appointing the board of directors, recruiting the CEO, and other key personnel, with the aim of launching the institute for operation by the 2026-27 fiscal year as soon as possible.