(Yicai) March 14 -- Artificial intelligence has taken center stage at the fifth annual Technology for Change Asia summit in Hong Kong, with the main theme at the two-day forum being how AI tech can address the continent's unique challenges.
AI has had "explosive growth in recent years," particularly in its impact on energy innovation and pharmaceutical development, Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist, said during the event that ended yesterday.
Hong Kong makes substantial investments in innovative technologies, noted Paul Chan, the city's financial secretary. "Its innovation technology ecosystem is expanding from upstream to downstream," with plans to become an international AI industry hub, he added.
Hong Kong will launch the first International Young Scientist Forum on AI and the World Robot Conference, aiming at bridging China and the world, Chan noted.
Regional disparities in technological development emerged as a key concern at Technology for Change Asia.
"We co-create a lot of the apps and products with the drivers," which has generated three multiplier impacts, Aristiwidya Bramantika, strategic head of GoTo Impact Foundation, said while sharing insights from the organization's experience in Indonesia.
"One, there's less digital divide. These are people that never used a smartphone before and now they become advocates for technology," Bramantika noted. "The second one is the improvement in economic conditions because they have better livelihoods. The third one is the improvement in their dignity and self-efficacy because they're now a proud member of the community."
Cybersecurity challenges in Asia's rapidly digitalizing landscape also received much attention at the forum.
Asia faces the highest number of cyber-attacks globally, said Daryl Pereira, director and head of Google Cloud Asia-Pacific's 'Office of the CISO.' "Asia Pacific has the largest number of mobile device users in the world. It also has probably the fastest internet.
"We're moving to an environment where zero trust becomes more important," Pereira noted, highlighting Google's comprehensive security approach across application, hardware, and user interface levels.
This year's Technology for Change Asia was hosted by Economist Impact and attracted around 500 industry leaders. The event focused on the future of work in the AI era, the quantum revolution, sustainable technology solutions, and other critical topics.
Editor: Martin Kadiev
