NAVIGATING THE FUTURE OF WORK IN THE AGE OF AI

Prof Yike Guo is the Provost of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. He is a world-renowned computer scientist who has led several large-scale AI and data science research projects in Hong Kong, UK and other European countries. He was the Vice-President (Research and Development) of Hong Kong Baptist University and the founding Director of the Institute of Data Science at Imperial College London's six global institutes. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (MAE), a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences (FHKEng), a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (FIEEE), a Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS), and a Fellow of the Chinese Institute for Engineering Intelligence (FCAAI). Prof Guo won the 2022 Wu Wenjun Artificial Intelligence Science and Technology Award for Outstanding Contribution Award, which is considered to be the highest honor in the field of intelligent science and technology in China.

Mr Peter Yan is an industry leader with more than 38 years of experience in the information technology industry. As the CEO of Cyberport, Mr Yan leads the digital technology flagship to focus on fostering talent cultivation, industry development and the integration of new and traditional economies. He champions Cyberport’s vision to create new impetus for Hong Kong's economy through digital technology. Mr Yan is a member of the Election Committee (the Technology and Innovation Subsector). He is also an official member of the HKSAR Task Force on Promoting Web3 Development, a member of the HKSAR Northern Metropolis Advisory Committee, and various industry or professional organisations in the I&T sector. Mr Yan holds a BBA Degree from CUHK and was conferred the Honoree of the Year by the CUHK Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma in 2020, he had received Executive Education from the Harvard Business School.

Ms Jennifer Zhu Scott is the Founding Partner of IN. Capital, focusing on AI and deep tech. She was the Executive Chairman of The Commons Project, a non-profit public trust established to build global digital infrastructure as a public good. She was among the Forbes World's Top 50 Women in Tech in 2018 and co-chair of the Fortune Global Tech Forum in 2019. She was named one of The Most Influential Businesswomen in China by Fortune in 2021. She is a China fellow of the Aspen Institute and has a dual fellowship at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) under the Asia-Pacific Programme and the Digital Society Initiative, and a council member at the Data Policy Council of the World Economic Forum, where she served for the China Council and the Future of Blockchain Council. WEF named her a Young Global Leader in 2013. She is a board trustee of Web Science Trust. Ms Scott majored in applied mathematics at Sichuan University and holds an MBA in finance from Manchester Business School. She completed the public policy and leadership programs at Yale University in 2013, Harvard Kennedy School in 2016, and Oxford University in 2017. In 2018, she joined Princeton University’s inaugural executive education program focused on energy sustainability and leadership. She is a frequent public speaker and published writer on AI, data ownership, and China’s digital monetary strategies. Her TED Talk on data ownership reached 3.3m views.

Prof Naubahar Sharif is the Acting Head and Professor of the Division of Public Policy (PPOL) at HKUST. His research interests include science, technology and innovation (STI) policy in Hong Kong and within the ‘Greater Bay Area’ of Southern China; automation in China; and the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. He has been awarded both ‘Public Policy Research’ (PPR) and ‘General Research Fund’ (GRF) grants by Hong Kong’s Research Grants Council (RGC). Currently, Prof Sharif is a co-investigator for two ‘Strategic Public Policy Research’ (SPPR) grants awarded by Hong Kong’s Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office (PICO) as well as a cross-institutional ‘Collaborative Research Fund’ (CRF) grant awarded by the RGC. From 2006–2010, he consulted for Hong Kong’s Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC). His research has had a demonstrable impact on business and his research was one of HKUST’s few ‘impact case study’ submissions (sole-authored) for its 2020 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).