By Cannix Yau

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The Hong Kong government has picked three key departments to trial the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency without incurring additional cost, the innovation chief has said, urging the public not to equate the use of the technology with job cuts.
Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong made the announcement on Saturday as he revealed that the Companies Registry, Transport Department and Buildings Department would be the three pilot departments tasked with applying AI to administrative procedures.
In his policy address last week, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced that a high-level AI Efficacy Enhancement Team would be set up, led by senior officials and including private sector experts, to steer a citywide digital transformation and offer advice and solutions to various government departments.
Under the sweeping plan, at least 200 administrative procedures will incorporate AI by the end of 2027 in a bid to boost efficiency and create a more responsive, tech-driven bureaucracy. AI tools will be deployed across 100 procedures in 2026 alone, tackling areas from data analysis and customer service to speeding up the approval of licences and permits.
As the team’s deputy leader, Sun said it conducted an initial review of AI applications across various government departments.
“We have essentially reached agreements with these three departments. For example, the Companies Registry spends a lot of time and manpower annually processing new company registration applications and annual review reports. We hope to use AI to help increase efficiency and shorten processing times,” he said.
“These three departments can be said to represent the government’s future development direction towards facilitating public convenience and boosting business, which is a major governance goal.”

Sun dismissed the suggestion that the government’s objective in using AI was to reduce costs, saying its aim was to leverage the technology to improve efficiency without increasing financial expenditure.
“Our objective is to enhance efficiency, not necessarily to save money. Cost saving is not currently within the scope of this team’s considerations,” he said.
“We want to use existing manpower to provide more and better services to the public, without increasing staffing levels.”
The innovation minister also addressed concerns that there could be job cuts with the wider application of AI.
“I think we shouldn’t necessarily link the implementation of AI with job reductions. That’s not the right approach. AI is primarily about boosting efficiency,” he said.
Sun added the Civil Service Bureau would take charge of the overall distribution of civil service work, including personnel deployment and future recruitment planning, based on the adoption of AI.
He pointed out that the working group would also analyse data from government hotlines to understand which services or issues receive the most public queries and suggestions, adding that the ultimate aim was for all government departments to improve their efficiency by using AI.