No champagne yet but James Law Fat-lai (right) is getting there. Fresh from his success in helping to design the futuristic Chinese city in Wong Kar-wai's 2046, the Hong Kong cyber-architect has been shortlisted in Far Eastern Economic Review's annual Asian Innovation Awards for his design of an RTHK production studio with complete automation and artificial intelligence. Mr Law was among a dozen Asian innovators shortlisted out of 84 entries. The winners will be announced next week. The hi-tech studio has a 'cyber-brain', which follows voice-activated commands and can evolve a personality that can remember your birthday and anniversary to make interaction more human. 'It can sing Happy Birthday to you,' Mr Law said. The studio can be operated by a single person, instead of the usual six or seven technicians. At your command, it will rearrange furniture and move cameras and overhead lights to the right positions. It has been up and running for more than a year. Do you get attached to this cyber-workmate? 'I don't know. Perhaps not,' he said. But maybe this was how he got the idea for 2046. Trains travel through air and there is a seductive robot-servant, like the Faye Wong character (left), for every passenger to cater to their every whim.
