Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by the Hon Dominic Lee and a reply by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, in the Legislative Council today (December 18):
 
Question:

     There are views that while various places across the globe have been actively developing industries related to artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years, Hong Kong enterprises still face problems such as geographical restrictions and insufficient funds in applying AI technologies. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as it has been reported that in July this year, the developer of ChatGPT, an AI tool, restricted the provision of application programming interface services to regions including Hong Kong, whether the Government has discussed with the developer the lifting of the restriction; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) given that the Government launched the Artificial Intelligence Subsidy Scheme (AISS) in October this year to subsidise eligible enterprises to make the best use of the computing power of the AI ‍Supercomputing Centre to achieve more breakthroughs in AI scientific research and applications, of the total number of AISS applications received so far; whether the Government will provide technical support to the funded enterprises and extend AISS to cover small and medium enterprises and associations, so as to enhance their AI application capabilities and market competitiveness; and

(3) as there are views that Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have advantages in AI development, whether the Government has formulated specific measures to assist Hong Kong enterprises in strengthening their cooperation with the institutions in these cities in the field of AI technologies, and to provide development opportunities for local AI start-ups; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     In respect of the question raised by the Hon Dominic Lee, my reply is as follows:

(1) Hong Kong is a free market economy. We welcome enterprises from around the world to run businesses in Hong Kong and provide diversified services and products to the local market, including ChatGPT from the United States. On the other hand, we respect the marketing strategies and commercial arrangements of individual enterprises regarding their products in different markets.

     In recent years, various large language models (LLMs) emerge, with numerous enterprises in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas offering different generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) applications. With the support of the InnoHK research cluster, the Hong Kong Generative AI Research and Development Center (HKGAI), formed by research teams of local universities, is dedicated to the development of GenAI technologies and LLMs based on local databases. It is also in the process of devising a GenAI document processing application. Over 40 bureaux and departments are participating in the internal trial use programme.

     With the advance in artificial intelligence (AI) technology and more application scenarios, we anticipate that more AI products with competitive edges catering to the needs of the local market and different sectors will be made available in Hong Kong.

(2) The Legislative Council has approved $3 billion for the Government to put in place a three-year AI Subsidy Scheme (Scheme), mainly to subsidise local universities, research institutes and AI-related enterprises in leveraging the high-performance computing services of Cyberport’s AI Supercomputing Centre (AISC).

     Since the launch of the Scheme in October this year, Cyberport has received around 10 applications. An independent committee appointed by the Government has conducted initial assessment on the first batch of applications. Upon completion of further vetting, we expect the approved projects to finalise their planning and be commenced soon.

     The organisations subsidised under the Scheme will not only receive financial support, but also benefit from the innovative platform offered by Cyberport as a technology park that pools computing power, technology and talents together. It will bridge the supply and demand sides of AI, enabling product innovations and facilitating the convergence of technology transformation and application scenarios. While ordinary enterprises or organisations are unlikely to require the high-performance computing power of the AISC or apply the LLMs so derived directly, they could take advantage of the thriving AI ecosystem and gain access to more technology products that respond to market needs.

(3) Hong Kong is highly competitive in the field of AI. Our research foundation is strong, as evident by the top global rankings in AI and data science attained by a number of local universities. The AIR@InnoHK research cluster focussing on AI and robotic technologies has established 15 research and development laboratories (including HKGAI) and attracted top-notch global talents. The Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport are also home to more than 800 AI-related enterprises, drawing over a hundred AI enterprises to land this year, thereby fuelling Hong Kong as an AI powerhouse.

     Under “One Country, Two Systems”, Hong Kong is endowed with the distinctive advantages of converging both Mainland and international data, creating a favourable environment for strengthening our AI-related collaboration with the Mainland (particularly the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA)). Specifically, we signed the “Co-operation Agreement on Technology and Innovation Exchange between Guangdong and Hong Kong” with the Department of Science and Technology of the Guangdong Province in March 2023 to further deepen technology and innovation exchanges as well as bolster collaborative innovation of industries, academia and research between the two places. The Guangdong-Hong Kong Technology Cooperation Funding Scheme jointly implemented by the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments has also been encouraging co-operation between universities, research institutions and technology enterprises from both places in technology areas (including AI), and promoting work on high technology and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, with a view to enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises in both places.

     We will continue to foster collaboration on innovation and technology between Hong Kong and Mainland GBA cities, and encourage our local enterprises to tap into the opportunities in the GBA and expand into Mainland markets. read more

     The Government welcomed the passage of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Deductions for Leased Premises Reinstatement and Allowances for Buildings and Structures) Bill 2024 by the Legislative Council today (December 18). The Bill … read more

     The Civil Service College (CSC) today (December 18) held a talk in the series on the country’s foreign affairs jointly with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (OCMFA) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The talk, on the topic of “Telling Good Stories of China”, was delivered by Deputy Director General of the Department of Press, Communication and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Ms Mao Ning.

     Addressing the talk, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, said that Hong Kong has distinctive advantages under “one country, two systems”, benefitting from both strong support of the motherland and close connections to the world. Hong Kong not only has direct access to the vast Mainland market but also serves as a bridge linking the Mainland and the rest of the world, making it an international city full of opportunities. Hong Kong has numerous success stories that demonstrate its national and international connectivity. As civil servants play a crucial role in effective governance, they should align with the HKSAR Government’s initiatives to leverage community support to promote Hong Kong’s advantages, achievements and opportunities worldwide, thereby showcasing to the international community the successful implementation of “one country, two systems” as part of China’s story.

     About 280 senior officials and civil servants in the directorate and senior ranks attended the talk at the Central Government Offices today.

     The CSC and the OCMFA have been jointly organising this series of talks on the country’s foreign affairs since late 2021. The series, including thematic briefing sessions on “International Landscape and China’s Foreign Relations” by the Commissioner of OCMFA, and talks by relevant officials of the MFA on various topics, aims to enhance civil servants’ understanding of international affairs, awareness of national security and holistic views.

      

     Following is a question by the Hon Andrew Lam and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong, in the Legislative Council today (December 18):        Questio… read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Edward Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, in the Legislative Council today (December 18):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that quite a number of Legislative Council Members of Hong Kong and Legislative Assembly Members of Macao have recently received pornographic pictures suspected of being falsified using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Their faces appear in such pictures, which fraudsters use for blackmailing. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective numbers, loss amounts involved and detection rates of reported blackmail cases received since the beginning of this year involving the use of AI technologies to falsify voices, photographs or videos; whether there have been changes in such figures as compared with those of the same period last year;
 
(2) as it has been learnt that in light of the recent development and the characteristics of deepfake technology, fraudsters tend to impersonate senior business executives or well-known political figures in order to enhance credibility, what are the authorities’ countermeasures in place, e.g. whether the authorities will, by drawing on overseas experience to establish personality rights for well-known social figures, restrict any unauthorised use of AI technologies to falsify voices, photographs or videos without the consent of the persons concerned; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(3) as it has been learnt that some videos produced with deepfake technology will be spread through social media, and advertisements are placed on search engines to boost their popular appeal and search rankings, whether the authorities have explored requiring social media administrators to impose restrictions in this regard, including the requirement to indicate in the videos that they have been produced with AI technologies; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(4) given that the Legislative Council General Election will be held next year, whether the authorities have assessed the possibility of foreign forces using AI technologies to interfere in the electoral process and results, particularly by releasing false information to smear candidates; if assessment has been made and the outcome is in the affirmative, what preparations the authorities have made in this regard, e.g. whether they will set up a dedicated team for official investigation and clarification to respond to the incidents as soon as possible, thus preventing the spread of misinformation from affecting the election process; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Having consolidated the information provided by the Security Bureau (SB), the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) and the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB), my reply to the four-part question is as follows:
 
(1) According to information provided by the SB, from January to November 2024, the Police received a total of three fraud cases involving artificial intelligence (AI) deepfakes, which involved the use of deepfake technology to impersonate company employees to instruct commercial organisations to transfer funds to the accounts of fraudsters, and the use of deepfake technology to conduct online dating to lure victims to invest in cryptocurrencies. The most recent case, occurred in October 2024, was detected by the Police based on intelligence. A criminal syndicate manipulated by a triad society, which used deepfake technology to engage in online dating to lure victims in Hong Kong, the Mainland and other parts of Asia to invest in cryptocurrencies was dismantled. The case involved a total of more than $360 million with 27 persons arrested, including masterminds and key members of the syndicate.

     Regarding the number of deepfake videos found or reported on the Internet, the Police have started to compile statistics since November 1, 2023. Up to November 30, 2024, the Police have found and received reports on 21 fake videos impersonating government officials or celebrities on the Internet. At the requests of the Police, the 21 clips have been taken down by the relevant online or social media platforms to prevent members of the public from being deceived. So far, the Police have not received any report from members of the public being defrauded as a direct result of the fake videos.
 
     The Police do not keep statistics on the number of blackmail cases involving pornographic photos. However, the Police have noted that since early November 2024, some people have been crudely altering pornographic images for email extortion, involving more than a hundred victims but without any monetary loss. The cases have been referred to the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Police for follow-up investigation and no arrests have been made so far.
 
     Should crime-related information be found on a social media platform, the Police will take the initiative to contact the platform concerned such that timely action can be taken to prevent social media platforms from being exploited as media and tools for committing crimes.
 
(2) According to information provided by the CEDB, regarding unauthorised use of a person’s indicia of identity by means of deepfake technology, whether it is actionable under different areas of law depends on the actual circumstances and evidence of individual cases and cannot be generalised. When the deepfake content involves unauthorised use of a copyright work, trademark and/or making of a misrepresentation causing damage to one’s goodwill, legal actions may be brought on the basis of copyright infringement, trademark infringement and/or common law tort of passing off, depending on the circumstances and evidence of each individual case. For example, a legal action may be brought by a well-known person on the basis of common law tort of passing off in a case where a trader uses the well-known person’s voice, image or likeness by means of deepfake technology without consent in the course of marketing and promoting the trader’s product or service in such manner and to such extent that constitutes a misrepresentation that the trader’s product or service is endorsed or licensed by the well-known person, and such misrepresentation causes or is likely to cause damage to the person’s goodwill.

     To enhance public awareness of fraud prevention, and of the production of fake videos using the deepfake technology, the CMAB advised that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has launched a series of anti-fraud publicity activities and videos, which remind the public of the importance of protecting personal data privacy.
 
(3) Currently, there is no legislation in Hong Kong that restricts or regulates social media platforms or their users from using particular technologies (such as AI technology) to create the information content they publish. However, the relevant content must comply with the existing laws and regulations in Hong Kong, including but not limited to the aforementioned. The Government also encourages social media platforms to actively discharge their corporate social responsibility by establishing their own community and platform codes of conduct, terms of service and privacy policies, as well as measures to tackle inappropriate content, in order to regulate the information content posted by users on the relevant platforms (including accuracy, authenticity, intellectual property, and safety) and mitigate privacy and ethical risks.

(4) As regards election, the Government will endeavor to ensure that public elections are conducted smoothly in a fair, just, honest, safe and orderly manner. The Registration and Electoral Office has all along maintained close liaison with the Police and other law enforcement agencies on electoral arrangements, and has put in place an established mechanism for collecting and analysing intelligence and performing risk assessments, and to take appropriate measures to mitigate risks and hazards as necessary, as well as to draw up various contingency plans to cope with any unforeseen circumstances.

     In addition, the CMAB, in conjunction with the Information Services Department and other relevant departments, will set up a rapid response team around the election day for elections in the coming year, to closely monitor and pay attention to various types of information during the election period, and to swiftly and effectively refute or clarify all kinds of false or inaccurate information or comments, so as to ensure that the election will not be affected. read more