Guo Yi Ke: HKGAI will continue to cooperate with the SAR government to make Hong Kong a global model city for the development of sovereign AI.

The World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) was held in Hong Kong for the first time. Last Friday (January 16), the 8th annual "2026 WAIC UP!" year-end event was held at the Hong Kong Science Park. Professor Guo Yike, Provost of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Director of the Hong Kong Generative AI Research Center (HKGAI), stated that sovereign AI involves not only large-scale model technology, but also includes computing power infrastructure, data sovereignty, governance architecture, and public service capabilities, making it an important component of the new generation of urban digital infrastructure. He described Hong Kong as small yet well-rounded, with a sound legal system, a multilingual society, and a mature governance structure, making it especially suitable for pioneering the verification of sovereign AI in urban governance, public services, and applications for people's livelihood, and providing empirical experience for larger-scale promotion. Professor Guo Yike stated that since its establishment in October 2023, the core mission of HKGAI has not been limited to single technology research and development, but to establish a complete and sustainable city-level AI infrastructure for Hong Kong. He pointed out that the center has built efficient computing power platforms, self-trained large language models, and secure and compliant local data and governance architecture from scratch for Hong Kong. It provides a long-term evolving AI capability foundation for the government, public agencies, and society. Looking ahead, Professor Guo Yike pointed out that artificial intelligence is moving from conversational tools to intelligent entity-driven. HKGAI is actively integrating Web3 infrastructure, studying AI Agents' identities, transactions, collaborations, and governance models in virtual and real-world settings, and exploring new forms of urban coexistence between humans and AI. He further stated that Hong Kong has unique advantages in legal systems, policy-making, and financial technology, and is capable of providing globally valuable practical examples in AI governance, computing power integration, and decentralized architecture. HKGAI will continue to collaborate with the government, academia, and industry, deepen the construction of AI infrastructure, promote responsible innovation, and develop Hong Kong into an important demonstration city for sovereign AI development in China and globally.