AI, big data set for big role in public sector

HK residents can look forward to smart-city community-service solutions once a new govt blueprint can speed up greater departmental collaboration. Edith Lu reports from Hong Kong.

Artificial intelligence and big data technology are in for a bigger role in the upcoming “Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong 2.0” to provide more convenient public services for residents, says the founder of one of the Chinese mainland’s foremost robot technology companies.

Max Yuan Hui, chairman of Shanghai Xiaoi Robot Technology, said AI and big data can simplify the processes of government affairs, lifting the public sector’s work efficiency.

He expects AI’s development to gain traction in the post-pandemic era as COVID-19 has fueled its application that could hasten changes in various industries and people’s daily lives. This will also benefit AI’s wide application in the mid- and long-term future.

“AI is not just about algorithms. Algorithms are like a piece of paper, which is meaningless without data and application. These three factors will continue to power each other and the future development of AI will spiral up,” Yuan said.

“Ultimately, AI will be everywhere in our lives, just like air and water. People cannot feel its existence. Neither can they live without it.”

The Hong Kong government has been pressing ahead with the development of AI. It’s setting up two technological research clusters at Hong Kong Science Park, with one focusing on healthcare and the other on AI and robotics.

Robotic helper

The government has incorporated AI in its operations. It launched chatbot Bonny, whose name sounds like “help you” in Cantonese, late last year on government websites to help users obtain forms and information.

Behind Bonny is Xiao-i. With its patented chatbot solutions powered by natural language processing, the company won the bid to design the chatbot and complement its knowledge base from time to time.

The company had previously taken part in various smart-city programs on the mainland. It launched an AI robot terminal in Guiyang, the provincial capital of Guizhou, in 2017 to answer residents’ community-service questions, including those related to social security and government policies. It also built 24-hour smart public legal service booths to help people living in remote areas protect their rights.

Yuan aims to bring these smart-city solutions and development experience to Hong Kong and localize them.

“As a city leading in the service sector, Hong Kong is equipped with mature service systems. This advanced concept of service can make Hong Kong a people-oriented smart city,” he said. “Meanwhile, with plenty of outstanding information technology manufacturers, Hong Kong has more choices in smart-city development.”

Yuan thinks it may take more time and money for Hong Kong to become a smart city. “The city is sitting at a meeting point of East and West, and residents here are from all over the world, with various cultural backgrounds and habits. So the government needs to consider the compatibility of different groups when launching something new,” he said.

Smart city 2.0

Collaboration among government departments is expected to be further strengthened in the second smart-city blueprint due to be unveiled this year. Blueprint 1.0, released in December 2017, adopts project-based approaches, covering smart lampposts, electronic identity, the Faster Payment System and virtual banking.

Most departments focus on their own functions to achieve early results, with some projects making huge advances.

By October, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s FPS had recorded more than 6.35 million registrations since its launch in 2018. In the same month, it processed an average of 481,000 transactions a day, nearly nine times more than in the same period in 2018.

Meanwhile, a host of virtual banks have opened since the first batch of licenses were issued in March 2019.

Yuan expects to see greater departmental collaboration in developing the common spatial data infrastructure — a map-based information infrastructure leveraging geographic information system technology.

“All datasets have to be CSDI-ready first, which means they need to be converted into a machine-readable format and connected with geographic locations,” he said. “After that, through the common operational picture — a central platform that enables the exchange of information — data information can provide greater value.”

If the transport, food and environmental hygiene and education departments, as well as the Hospital Authority, are integrated, the latest information on traffic, food supplies, school arrangements and clinic and hospital services availability can be released in a one-stop platform instantly.

The public will find it much easier to cope with the changing situation with accurate and updated information, said Yuan.