Driverless bus incident points to Hong Kong's need for AI governance
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On June 22,
two driverless buses collided at an intersection at Hong Kong International Airport. No injuries occurred and damage was minor. Yet the Airport Authority suspended autonomous bus services, which suggests how quickly public trust can evaporate without robust artificial intelligence (AI) governance.
This was no isolated glitch. According to the authority, both buses arrived simultaneously at an uncontrolled junction. Their sensors failed to coordinate a right-of-way decision – a known edge case in autonomous systems.
Hong Kong is investing billions in AI, from supercomputers to smart traffic. But leadership requires more than funding; it demands accountable governance.
Unlike the European Union's AI Act (set to take full effect in 2026), which would classify autonomous buses as 'high-risk' systems, Hong Kong relies primarily on guidelines. There is no legal obligation for operators to follow internationally recognised protocols for pre-deployment testing or third-party audits of AI safety, for instance.
Had ISO 42001 certification been required, the operator would likely have implemented continuous monitoring to detect and resolve sensor conflict before deployment. Under the EU AI Act's risk-based framework, real-time human oversight would be mandatory for systems of this kind.
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