AI used for first time to analyse lawmakers’ 5-year plan, policy address debate

Legislative Council president Starry Lee Wai-king said on Saturday that an overview of the six-session debate had been produced using AI.

The session on improving livelihood protections drew the largest number of speaking lawmakers and accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the total debate coverage, she said.

“The overview will be provided to lawmakers for reference and submitted to the government, with the aim of helping authorities accurately grasp the key focus areas of the motion debate,” she said on social media.

Lee said the overview identified the top 10 most frequently mentioned themes in the lawmakers’ remarks: talent; the Northern Metropolis; innovation and technology; education; data and computing power; the Greater Bay Area and Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation; AI; finance and international financial centre; youth; and employment.

According to the overview, 77 lawmakers touched on talent, followed by the Northern Metropolis, which was mentioned by 71 legislators.

“The lawmakers’ suggestions reflected a holistic perspective, focusing on key issues vital to Hong Kong’s long-term development such as talent, technology and urban governance while remaining deeply attentive to public livelihoods,” she said.

Lee said the Legco secretariat was exploring ways to more effectively leverage AI to analyse the key themes and characteristics of lawmakers’ debates on motions.

Earlier this month, the legislature passed motions supporting the city’s first five-year plan and thanking Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu for his latest policy address following the three-day debate.

The city leader unveiled the annual policy address last month alongside the five-year plan, which aims to align Hong Kong’s development with the national development strategy.

The two documents set out initiatives to accelerate the Northern Metropolis megaproject and strengthen the city’s position in finance, aviation, maritime services, trade and technology.