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SCI & TECH1d agoHong Kong world’s first airport to receive digital identity certification from IATAHong Kong International Airport has become one of the first two organisations certified under an international aviation industry group’s digital identity programme, as it seeks to expand its facial recognition system beyond the city. However, the wider adoption of facial recognition technology has been slower than expected, due to government regulations and privacy requirements, according to a senior aviation industry official. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced on...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECH5d agoWill AI-powered open-door vending machines reshape Hong Kong’s retail landscape?Sherry Shum has embraced a new shopping routine after finding a smart vending machine near her home in Chai Wan. The 37-year-old retail worker uses her phone to scan a QR code, opens the smart machine’s door, picks up a bottle of Coca-Cola, an oolong tea and a pack of potato chips, closes it and walks away with HK$60 (US$7.70) worth of goods. The whole process is so seamless that the only time she spends is deciding what to buy. The moment Shum takes an item from the shelf, the machine detects...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 23Fresh Hong Kong graduates feel AI impact as degree pay advantage narrowsFresh Hong Kong graduates are increasingly feeling the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) as they enter the workforce, human resources experts have said, after a survey found the starting salaries for degree holders and sub-degree graduates had narrowed. The results of the latest annual survey by Baptist University found the disparity between the starting salaries of bachelor’s degree and sub-degree graduates narrowed by 17 per cent, or HK$500 (US$63.70), from HK$3,000 last year to HK$2,500...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 22An AI apocalypse? Hong Kong’s real challenge is much less dramaticFor many of us, artificial intelligence (AI) started out as something to play with. We asked it to write poems and arrange our calendars; we shared its more entertaining mistakes. Then it became something to believe in: an escape from drudgery, an assistant to every profession, even perhaps the start of a new industrial revolution. Now it is something to fear. The progression has been astonishing. Governments are scrambling to draw up AI strategies, companies are reorganising operations and...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 21Only 3% of Hong Kong firms have fully integrated AI into workflows, survey findsOnly 3 per cent of Hong Kong companies have fully integrated AI into their workflows, with many facing hurdles including resistance to organisational change and outdated digital infrastructure, a survey has found. Consultancy Accenture, which polled 150 companies and released the results on Wednesday, said the survey suggested businesses had a strong desire to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) in their work but many struggled to put it into practice. “Hong Kong really has strong AI ambitions...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 20Hong Kong to focus on infrastructure monitoring in first phase of ‘AI city brain’Hong Kong authorities will focus on incorporating infrastructure monitoring into the first phase of its AI-powered urban management system, while exploring its expansion into public services in later stages. Officials also told a Legislative Council meeting on Tuesday that government arms were encouraged to develop their own databases before connecting them to the “AI city brain”. Undersecretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Lillian Cheong Man-lei said authorities would prioritise...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 20How smart will Hong Kong’s ‘AI city brain’ be?When Severe Typhoon Dolphin approached eastern China in August, more than 110,000 delivery riders across Hangzhou received automatic alerts and personalised safety guidance on their mobile phones every minute. With a few taps, Hangzhou’s “riders’ code” system navigated them to the nearest shelters, which authorities said had reduced their occupational risks under extreme weather. Behind the tailored and quick support was Hangzhou’s artificial intelligence (AI) urban management system, which had...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 18Hong Kong excels at medical research. So what is holding it back?In the first of a four-part Health Matters wellness series on frontier medicine in Hong Kong, Elizabeth Cheung looks into how the city can turn world-class research into real-world treatments and what it needs to become a global biomedical innovation hub. Raymond Tong Kai-yu spent a decade overcoming challenges in cost and production to develop a device that could change lives: a robotic hand that helps stroke patients regain mobility and relearn everyday movements. The Hong Kong biomedical...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 18Harvard and Cambridge to attend Hong Kong forum on role of humanities in AI ageThe organiser of a forum that will bring together Hong Kong and overseas universities later this month has said it hopes to spark debate on the role of humanities programmes in an era increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence (AI). The Global University Presidents and Leaders Summit, organised by the Hong Kong Association for External Friendship, will be held on October 27 and 28 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. Presidents or senior management from more than 50...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 17From fruit to bricks: Hong Kong engineers explore how to build houses on MarsEngineers in Hong Kong are developing 3D-printable building materials that could one day be used to construct houses on Mars. Inspired by freeze-dried fruit, the team is combining sand, gelatine and genetically engineered yeast to create a concrete-like material under simulated Martian conditions.EuroNews [en]
SCI & TECHOct 17A companion between appointments: Hong Kong student’s AI tool for cancer patientsFor cancer patients in Hong Kong, emotional distress can persist beyond the clinic, with a large combined analysis of multiple studies linking depression and anxiety to lower chances of survival. Claudia Chan Shu-ying, a medical student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), is developing CancerCompanion, a digital companion designed to offer emotional support between appointments, including late at night when professional help may not be immediately available. The system uses AI-powered...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 16Hong Kong vies for role in robotics boom with launch of embodied AI hubThe Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) opened the city’s first experimental hub for embodied artificial intelligence on Thursday with the participation of seven mainland and Hong Kong companies, including industry leaders Unitree Robotics and Galbot, as the city looks to carve out a role in the global robotics boom. Located at the HKPC Building in Kowloon Tong, the Embodied AI International Applications Hub, housed under the HKPC’s industrial AI and robotics centre, features simulated...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 15AI use fuels frustration as Hong Kong customer service complaints top 2025 totalThe Hong Kong public’s dissatisfaction with customer service is growing, with complaints in the first nine months of the year already exceeding the total for 2025 and many involving companies’ overreliance on artificial intelligence (AI). The Consumer Council received 3,078 complaints about traders’ customer service between January and September, compared with 2,715 for the whole of last year and 2,173 in 2024. “Among the consumer complaints received by the Consumer Council each year, many...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 15Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: start-up turns to tech to tackle urban wasteInconvenience is one of the biggest obstacles to recycling, a challenge that prompted a Hongkonger to establish a one-stop recycling service. Jorch Wong Ching-hei left advertising in 2019 and started The Loops Hong Kong after finding that recycling different materials often required travelling to different collection points. With no prior background in the industry, he contacted recycling operators, visited plants and learned how paper, plastics and metals were processed. Wong also taught...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 15Hong Kong teen makes cents of finance, taps AI to tackle economic inequalityAt 17, Hong Kong secondary school student Agastya Rekhi has been teaching finance and economics to younger children for nearly three years. Meeting families struggling to understand how prices, investments and economic news impacted their daily lives during voluntary work convinced him that access to information was only part of the problem. How that information was communicated was just as important. Rekhi, a finalist for the Spirit of Youth Award in this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, has...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 12Hong Kong electronics fairs to showcase 120 robots as firms aim to expand AI useMore than 120 robots, including humanoid machines designed for factory work and elderly care, will be showcased at two major Hong Kong electronics fairs, as mainland Chinese manufacturers seek to expand the commercial applications of AI and tap overseas markets. The Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition) and electronicAsia will open on Tuesday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, bringing together more than 3,200 exhibitors from 15 countries and regions for four...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 12Hong Kong’s ‘AI city brain’ could undergo testing next typhoon season: Eric ChanHong Kong’s artificial intelligence management system could take shape and be tested as early as the typhoon season next year, the government’s No 2 official has said, adding that the project will give authorities a “full picture” of the city once it is in full swing. In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post, Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said the “AI city brain” system aimed to connect independent databases maintained by different government bodies. “With the invention of...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 11Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: biotech firm eyes cervical cancer test breakthroughHong Kong biotech entrepreneur Ricky Chiu Yin-to is seeking to make cervical cancer screening easier through urine-based HPV testing, using sample-concentration technology developed by his company. His company, Phase Scientific, made its name during the Covid-19 pandemic through its rapid antigen test, Indicaid. The product received US emergency-use authorisation in July 2021, was used in Hong Kong community testing and sold in more than 30 countries. At the start of the pandemic, the firm...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 10Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: explorer inspires youth through glacial field tripsWhen Wilson Cheung took Hong Kong secondary school students into the Swiss Alps this summer, terrain he had once been able to reach had become inaccessible. Glacier melt and thawing ground had destabilised parts of the mountain, while rockfall made fieldwork more hazardous. Only weeks earlier, Cheung had completed a roughly 1,700km (1,056-mile) scientific snowkite traverse across Greenland in 2026. The journey took him across the ice sheet while he continued collecting data in one of the world’s...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 10New Taipei-Hong Kong subsea route opened to cut risk and meet AI demandOne of the world’s biggest network service providers has opened a new subsea route between Taipei and Hong Kong to strengthen the system against repeated underwater cable disruptions around the island. Britain-headquartered RETN said the new route would take its total to six serving Taiwan: four connecting Taipei and Hong Kong, and two linking Taipei and Tokyo. “Like many island economies, Taiwan’s international connectivity relies heavily on subsea cables, which creates exposure to risks such...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 9Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: scientist’s soybean research pushes agricultural frontierWhen Professor Lam Hon-ming returned to Hong Kong after completing postdoctoral work in the United States in 1997, he was fixated on one question: how can science help feed the country and the world? He found that soybeans offered part of the answer. In addition to its nutritional value, the crop can fix nitrogen levels in the soil, reducing reliance on chemical fertiliser, and some varieties can be bred to tolerate drought and salinity. Lam went on to spend almost three decades studying soybean...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 9Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: firm uses 3D-printed tiles to restore coral reefsIn 2014, a University of Hong Kong research team watched two years of reef restoration work collapse in Sai Kung. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department had asked the researchers to speed up coral recovery. Cement structures were placed on the seabed and coral began to grow. But as the colonies became larger, they became unstable. “They have no roots,” said Vriko Yu Pik-fan, then a doctoral student on the project. “The bigger they got, the less stable they were.” That failure...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 9From kitchen waste to sky-high costs: inside Hong Kong’s quest for green jet fuelChina’s once-notorious “gutter oil”, recycled from kitchen and drainage waste, has almost vanished from dining tables in recent years and now carries the nickname liquid gold. The substance has become a highly sought-after feedstock for producing clean energy, especially sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with biofuel producers such as Hong Kong-based Ecoceres sourcing gutter oil across the Greater Bay Area. EcoCeres’ co-chairman, Alan Chan Ying-lung, witnessed how the restaurant waste transformed...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHOct 7Hong Kong’s AI city brain must understand how people really speakChief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s vision of an “AI city brain” is bold and timely. An integrated system linking data across transport, public works, environmental monitoring and emergency response could help Hong Kong manage risks more proactively and coordinate services more effectively. The initiative is highly commendable. It also raises a critical question: can a city brain truly understand a city if it does not understand how its people communicate? The truth is that communication is...South China Morning Post