Hong Kong to launch free AI courses with tech giants Google, Microsoft for SMEs

Free courses coordinated by the Hong Kong government will leverage the expertise of tech giants such as Google and Microsoft to help boost the adoption of AI by businesses for content creation, data analysis and workflow efficiency.

The Hong Kong Productivity Council on Thursday announced the launch of the programme targeting industries such as education, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and logistics as part of the government’s HK$50 million (US$6.38 million) “AI for All” initiative.

“Currently, over 90 per cent of businesses in Hong Kong are small and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs] and comprise the most important part of the city’s economic development,” Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong said.

“Therefore, how we can help SMEs transform and upgrade through AI to enhance their competitiveness is an important direction within the AI for All initiative.”

Council deputy chairman Emil Yu Chen-on said the courses would go beyond teaching employees to use artificial intelligence, calling them “a future-facing talent investment” that also ensured the technology was used safely.

“It’s to … truly transform AI into productivity and competitiveness,” he said. “We can provide actionable, replicable, and expandable AI application areas that cater to the needs of different industries.”