Hong Kong is lagging in the AI race – can it raise its game, and how?

In the third of our series of previews on the five-year plan and policy address, to be announced on September 16, Leopold Chen and Theodora Yu look at how the city can raise its game and expand the adoption of artificial intelligence. Read part one here and part two here.

Spotting bags of construction waste illegally dumped near a temporary refuse collection point in Hong Kong’s Southern district last year, former lawmaker and resident Michael Tien Puk‑sun immediately dialled the government’s 1823 hotline to file a complaint.

Days later, he saw the bags at the same spot. The hotline had not recorded his complaint at all, he said, as he went on social media to lambast the authorities’ lack of action.

“The problem comes down to the hotline simply saying it had never received the initial report,” Tien told the South China Morning Post.

Soon, residents’ grievances about the government’s inefficient handling of public complaints will be addressed differently as the government pledged last month to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into public services, including the hotline.

The expanded adoption of AI is expected to take centre stage when Hong Kong unveils its first five-year plan and its latest policy address on Wednesday.