Artificial intelligence: Hong Kong businesses, government could do more to educate consumers on privacy risks, experts say

Speaking at SCMP Conversations: AI & Consumer Experience, panellists highlight importance of setting boundaries around data collection

Many consumers may not know they are already using AI in their day-to-day lives, Esther Wong, managing director of AI start-up SenseTime says

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Panellists at an event organised by the Post and the Consumer Council say artificial intelligence technology will become more widespread in e-commerce in the future. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:30pm, 13 Oct 2022Updated: 8:49pm, 13 Oct 2022

Hong Kong businesses and the government could do more to educate consumers about the privacy risks of artificial intelligence (AI) as the technology will eventually become more widespread in e-commerce, leaders and researchers from various industries have said.

Speaking on Thursday at SCMP Conversations: AI & Consumer Experience, an event organised by the Post and the Consumer Council, industry leaders also highlighted the importance of working with authorities to set boundaries on collecting data from consumers when using AI for e-commerce purposes.

(From left) The Post’s Matt Haldane, SenseTime Hong Kong’s Esther Wong, Cathay Pacific’s Aldric Chau, and PCCW-HKT’s Chung Ng at the event. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Esther Wong, managing director of AI start-up SenseTime, said many consumers might not know they were already using AI in their day-to-day lives, adding that education on data privacy was important.

“Every time you unlock your iPhone, you’re using AI technology,” Wong said. “So [consumers are] not necessarily unfamiliar with it, they may not [know] that they’re using some aspects of AI, which is essentially quite popularised already.”

“It’s very important that an open dialogue takes place between corporations, the research centres and the government. So when you set the standards, then people know what the boundaries are,” she added.

Esther Wong, managing director of AI start-up SenseTime. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Wong also said she believed education on AI could start from a young age to nurture more talent to work in AI-related jobs, pointing out that her company had published textbooks on the topic in more than 2,000 mainland Chinese schools.