Workshop on “AI in Business”

An insightful interdisciplinary Workshop on “AI in Business” was successfully held by the HKU Business School’s Institute of Digital Economy and Innovation (IDEI) on December 9, 2024 at HKU-iCube. The event brought together esteemed scholars and industry experts at the cutting edge of AI research, as well as over 100 participants engaging in the exchange of brilliant minds.

The Workshop commenced with opening remarks from Professor Yulin Fang, IDEI Director and Professor of Innovation and Information Management at HKU Business School, and Professor Jin Li, Zhang Yonghong Professor in Economics and Strategy and Area Head of Management and Strategy at HKU Business School, followed by a series of engaging presentations that explored the transformative role of artificial intelligence across various sectors.

Professor Lingpeng Kong, Assistant Professor of Department of Computer Science at the University of Hong Kong, and Professor Xiaodong Zhu, Area Head of Economics and Chair of Economics at HKU Business School, jointly discussed innovative approaches using textual data and large language models to assess policy effectiveness with their speech “Measuring Government Policies: A New Approach Using Textual Data and Large Language Models”.
Mr. Pascal Hua, National Managing Partner of Technology and Transformation from Deloitte China, addressed the opportunities and challenges posed by generative AI in the business landscape by delivering a speech titled “The Emergence of Generative AI for Business and the Pitfalls”.

Professor Michael C. L. Chau, the Deputy Area Head of Innovation and Information Management at HKU Business School, presented research on mitigating racial bias in hate speech detection through prompt-based learning through his speech “Relieving Racial Bias in Hate Speech Detection Through Prompt-based Learning”.
Professor Ye Luo, Associate Director of IDEI at HKU Business School, shared recent developments in AI technologies and their implications for learning environments with his speech “Recent Advances in AI and Learning.”

Professor Michael Xiaoquan Zhang, Wei Lun Professor of Business AI, Department of Decisions, Operations and Technology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, discussed the integration of AI in financial markets, enhancing decision-making processes by presenting “AI in Financial Market”.
Professor Yipu Deng, Assistant Professor of Innovation and Information Management at HKU Business School, explored how AI-generated answers influence user contributions in digital platforms in her presentation titled “When Artificial Intelligence Speaks, Humans Respond: The Impact of AI-generated Answers on User Contributions”.

Professor Jie Gong, Associate Professor of Management and Strategy at HKU Business School and Professor Jin Li, examined the intersection of AI and creativity, highlighting new possibilities for innovation with the speech “AI and Creative Process”.
Professor Hailiang Chen, Assistant Dean (Taught Postgraduate) and Professor of Innovation and Information Management at HKU Business School, introduced the Gov-RAG framework, aimed at improving citizen engagement through AI with his speech titled “Gov-RAG: A Retrieval-Augmented Generation Framework for Enhancing Citizen Services”.
Mr. Yong Yang, Head of Data and Security for the Huan Yuan Large Model at Tencent Cloud Computing, wrapped up the Workshop with insights on the practical applications of large AI models in enterprise management by delivering “The Practice and Application of Large Models in Enterprise Management”.

Throughout the day, the sessions were chaired by esteemed academics, including Prof. Zhixi Wan, Area Head of IIM; Prof. Zhenhui (Jack) Jiang, Padma and Hari Harilela Professor in SIM; Prof. Junhong Chu, CIE Associate Director; Prof. Yulin Fang and Prof. Jin Li.