Hong Kong schools don’t have enough teachers trained in AI, sector veterans say

Hong Kong schools do not have enough trained teachers or class time to help students improve their knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) amid a government push to get young people interested in the technology, education sector veterans have said.

But one prominent AI scholar said schools first needed to teach students about ethical issues surrounding the technology.

“Ethical standards should be taught before technical education … AI is a tool used by humans after all,” said Yao Xin, vice-president of Lingnan University.

In his latest budget address, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the government was encouraging companies to offer resources and guidance over tech-related education in schools, such as coding and AI. He noted that AI was “at the core of developing new quality productive forces”.

Universities are also enhancing AI training, with HKU planning to require all undergraduate students to take a course on the subject. Lingnan University introduced the requirement in September last year.

But some principals told the Post that although AI and coding were already being taught in secondary and primary schools respectively, teachers lacked the sufficient knowledge to achieve the government’s goals in technology literacy.