Hong Kong must avoid jumping on AI bandwagon and focus on what it does best
DeepSeek and
Unitree Robotics , Hong Kong is eager to get on the bandwagon.
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In unveiling Hong Kong's 2025-26 budget late last month, Financial Secretary
Paul Chan Mo-po expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of turning the city into 'an international exchange and cooperation hub for the AI industry'.
As a result, he has earmarked HK$1 billion (US$128.6 million) to establish the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute. The organisation is expected to support the city's innovative R&D sector and industrial application of AI.
Tentative signs indicate Hong Kong wants to go big on building AI into a core industry to drive the city's innovation and technology even though it announced cuts in public spending to tackle its deficit, which amounted to HK$87.2 billion for the previous financial year.
While officials tout AI as a transformative force, scepticism is warranted. Hong Kong's track record in pursuing cutting-edge technologies has been less than satisfactory, to say the least, and its current fiscal constraints raise doubts about its capacity to compete in this costly arena.
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