The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Cyberport launch the second phase of the GenA.I. Sandbox Scheme to accelerate innovation in artificial intelligence for the financial industry.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) today (April 28) announced the launch of the second phase of the Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenA.I.) Sandbox Pilot Program. This program aims to provide banks with a risk-controlled environment to support the development and testing of innovative solutions using Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), further promoting the adoption of A.I. technology in the financial industry. The HKMA stated that the industry positively responded to the first phase of the sandbox launched in January this year, and the second phase of the GenA.I. Sandbox Program will continue to focus on strengthening risk management, anti-fraud measures, and customer experience use cases. To further drive innovation, the second phase of the program will include a major enhancement called the "GenA.I. Sandbox Co-Creation Lab" (Co-Creation Lab). Through a series of practical workshops, this lab will facilitate early engagement between banks and technology suppliers, enabling the transformation of problem statements into actual use cases and testing them in the GenA.I. Sandbox. Recognizing the growing threat of deepfake fraud, the HKMA will hold Co-Creation Lab workshops in the coming weeks, focusing on leveraging A.I. to combat deepfake technology. Arthur YUEN, Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA, stated: "The launch of the second phase of the GenA.I. Sandbox demonstrates our commitment to promoting responsible GenA.I. innovation in the banking industry. In addition to continuing to validate trial use cases, this round will also focus on exploring the possibility of 'using A.I. to combat A.I.' We encourage banks to integrate A.I. technology into their second and third lines of defense in risk management, to effectively address the risks and challenges arising from its development while benefiting from the advantages of A.I. development." The HKMA announced the launch of the second phase of the GenA.I. Sandbox Program at the 5th FiNETech event. The event brought together over 150 professionals from banks and the technology sector involved in A.I.-related fields.