HK Policy Address 2024: Gov’t to test locally trained GenAI for document processing

The Hong Kong government will pilot the use of a locally trained generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) system for some document processing, city leader John Lee said during his third Policy Address on Wednesday.

The chief executive said on Wednesday that the testing would be led by the government’s Digital Policy Office (DPO), which was founded in July to formulate guidelines and policies for the development of a “digital government.”

“It’s basically like a ChatGPT,” a government source told HKFP on Wednesday, referring to the powerful chatbot developed by OpenAI.

The source said the AI would be trained using government documents, so that its accuracy and efficiency in government document processing could be improved.

The AI tool is expected to help “several departments” with tasks such as writing drafts, translating, and the conversion between simplified and traditional Chinese characters, the source said.

But for more sophisticated or important documents, officers would still need to conduct manual verification, he said.

He said the DPO had issued guidelines on the use of generative AI for government departments in the middle of this year, and these covered steps to improve cybersecurity.

Separately, the source said a cybersecurity drill involving a mock cyberattack would be held in November, with government departments and public organisations which had suffered from data hacking in the past months being the targeted participants.

“The purpose is to show them how fierce a cyberattack could be,” the source said, adding that the departments and organisations could take part in the drill as observers.

He said the DPO had taken on a more proactive role, from promoting cybersecurity among government departments and public organisations to supervising them.

Each government department and public organisation should be held accountable for data security, he added.

In May, the Fire Services Department reported a potential data leak, the third similar incident involving a government department in less than a week, following the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and the Companies Registry.

The city’s Consumer Council and tech park Cyberport also fell victim to hackers last year.

The DPO would inspect government digital systems and select eight, which were considered more at risk, for an official examination next year, the source said.

Lee also said about 20 “digital government and smart city initiatives” would be launched this year, including the use of AI for handling public enquiries and the use of blockchain technology for issuing electronic certificates.