How to enhance the momentum of Hong Kong’s economy is the theme of the upcoming Policy Address, and I have a few suggestions for this, in which geographic information, artificial intelligence (AI) and local startups play an important role.

First, a shared interactive map platform would help develop a low-altitude economy (LAE) within Hong Kong and beyond.

Last year’s Policy Address pointed out that it is necessary to formulate emergency rescue action plans with other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to enhance the joint emergency response capability in the region, and the establishment of low-altitude flying superhighways within 1,000 meters above ground level can greatly enhance the efficiency of rescue work. The LAE covers flying taxis, logistics and distribution, cleaning of buildings’ external walls, and even tree conservation and care, with great potential. However, how to improve safety and efficiency, and reduce costs at high densities is the key to success.

In order to successfully promote the development of LAE, it is necessary to meet the requirements of the regulators to address the basic safety concerns, and at the same time help enterprises reduce the financial burden so that the limited ground, airspace and spectrum resources can be shared to lower the threshold for participating in the industry. An important infrastructure: a shared interactive map platform of common operational picture (COP) is therefore required.

With three-dimensional maps as the core, the data-driven COP enhances the collaboration of management, resources, business, operations and other aspects. It also ensures that various departments and enterprises can use it as a single source of truth, of which all data is consolidated to a specific source, avoiding the trouble of mixing old and new data, real and false data. This interactive map platform allows decision-makers and staff to grasp the same information, making communication more effective, and thus improving efficiency. The establishment of the COP is based on the application of geographic information systems (GIS).

Second, nurture more talent with geospatial intelligence through an expansion of the Geospatial Lab (GeoLab).

The GeoLab, launched in 2021, aims to promote the development of smart cities by raising public interest in spatial data through education, experience and practice, and jointly exploring its value and applications.

Today, from LAE, autonomous driving to the metaverse, these new economic engines are all driven by geospatial data. Therefore, the Development Bureau should immediately review the effectiveness of GeoLab in the past three years and consider expanding its scale to nurture more geospatial talent.

Moreover, the application of geospatial data has been integrated with AI in recent years to all levels of society. For example, students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who won the 2022 Esri Young Scholars Award in the group category, presented a proposal for the development of the logistics industry in the brownfield sites of the New Territories with the use of AI algorithms and GIS, thereby helping to analyze the long-term development plan of the Northern Metropolis.

A research team from Lingnan University has also used geospatial artificial intelligence technology to analyze diversified information, such as AI internet of things, open data from the government, and real-time and forecast meteorological data from the observatory to generate the Mosquito Risk Index and Mosquito Risk Map, to monitor risks and fight mosquito-borne diseases in various districts in Hong Kong within the next three days.

Geospatial data has great potential as an indispensable tool for modern urban planning and governance. Therefore, I recommend that the authorities set up more GeoLabs to teach and promote these new technologies, and expand the beneficiary groups, including all civil servants (in addition to courses, competitions within the government to encourage their application in their work), teachers and students (included in STEAM education in primary and secondary schools), and to provide training for startups to unleash their potential to meet the huge market demand in the future.

Third, encourage enterprises to collaborate with local universities to develop more AI applications for the legal field.

The global popularity of online shopping has led to an increase in disputes between consumers and merchants, with the result that the demand for convenient and affordable settlement solutions has increased significantly.

At the same time, as the application of technology in the legal field becomes increasingly sought after, how can we seize the opportunity to establish Hong Kong as a center for international legal and dispute-resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region?

According to the survey results of the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy, only 47 percent of users accessed international arbitration support online platforms in 2020, but two years later, after the COVID-19 pandemic, it had risen significantly, to nearly 90 percent.

The most eager parties to seek these services are believed to be the resource-deficient micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). In ASEAN, which has close business ties with Hong Kong, there are an estimated 70 million MSMEs, or more than 97 percent of the total number of enterprises there. Therefore, it is expected to have a strong demand for online arbitration and dispute resolution services to handle cross-border disputes.

In order for Hong Kong to establish a leading position in this area for the ASEAN and GBA, it is necessary to leverage advanced technologies such as AI. However, many challenges are still to be overcome.

For example, a trustworthy AI requires a large amount of data for its training, which makes a rich and timely legal database indispensable. Meanwhile, the recognition of relevant legal cases often relies on the interpretation and judgment by professionals, which is not as clear-cut as the cases in, say, the accounting and medical fields, which are often based on clear and well-established facts. As a result, this will lead to doubt of the objectivity and disagreement on the AI decisions.

What’s more, people have been complaining about the black-box nature of AI algorithms of which the analysis results are difficult to interpret and may lead people to resist and raise objections to the judgments or legal opinions they generate.

How to overcome these challenges? I recommend that the government allocate more resources to universities for research and encourage industry involvement in this aspect. In this way, Hong Kong can be expected to play a leading role as a center for international legal and dispute resolution services in the region, as required by the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Last but not least, the government should take the lead to increase the use of local startups’ advanced technologies.

In recent years, the government has committed to encouraging the development and nurturing of startups. Therefore, the government should take the lead in prioritizing the adoption of Hong Kong-made emerging technologies and locally bred companies, especially those from local universities and internationally recognized startups.

For example, i2Cool, which develops Hong Kong-patented zero-energy input, electricity-free cooling paint products, is reported to have the ability to cool down the indoor temperature of the top floor by 3 to 8 degrees C after applying white iPaint on the roof of a building. The 50-year-old building, with many subdivided units in Sham Shui Po, has reported saving residents about 40 percent of their monthly electricity bills. The innovative technology startup is incubated by the City University of Hong Kong.

Kodifly, founded by graduates from the University of Hong Kong, is another example. The startup uses AI and advanced machine-learning algorithms to detect whether there are fallen trees, animals or idle people along railway lines, airports, highways, construction sites, etc, through its self-developed SpatialSense 3D spatial perception core technology, combined with Lidar. The technology can accurately report the distance, volume and position of objects in real-time, even under bad weather and dark environments. It would otherwise be difficult to do the same by people carrying general monitoring equipment.

In addition, LifeSparrow Solutions, a startup founded by Hong Kong Polytechnic University graduates, used AI software to help the Fire Services Department locate a missing male student last year. The technology helped slash the time needed by two-thirds to decode 10,000 photos taken by drones. AI significantly saved image recognition work by up to 75 percent, from eight hours to two hours for visual analysis. The three co-founders, who are only 25 years old, have been selected into the 30 Under 30 of Forbes Asia's 2024. It can be seen that the team’s achievements have been internationally appraised and recognized at the same time.

At present, Hong Kong’s economic prospects are not optimistic; it is of paramount importance for the government to adopt bold and innovative thinking, and apply advanced technologies such as GIS and AI not only to generate momentum for local development, but also to improve efficiency and cope with extreme weather, so that Hong Kong can create a stronger impetus for growth.

The author is an adjunct professor, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering; Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences; and Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.