Lingnan University Gala Dinner Raises Over HK$3 Million to Advance Human-Centric AI Research and Sustainable Impact

Lingnan University proudly hosted its signature fundraising event, the Bright Future Charitable Foundation presents: Lingnan University Gala Dinner, held last night (18 March), and raised over HK$3 million. All proceeds will be used to enhance the University’s research facilities, supporting infrastructure, and cutting-edge research projects.

Under the theme “Elevate to Innovate: Scaling New Heights for Sustainable Impact”, the Dinner brought together nearly 400 distinguished guests, including Lingnan alumni, staff, students and friends from different sectors of society, to support the University’s sustainable development in teaching and research.

The evening was graced by the presence of the Guest of Honour - Dr the Honourable Starry Lee Wai-king, GBS, JP, President of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, along with other distinguished officiating guests, including the Honourable Andrew Yao Cho-fai, BBS, JP, Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University; Dr Patrick Wong Chi-kwong, Chairman of the Court; Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science; Mr Mason Wu, Chairman of the Institutional Advancement Committee; Title Sponsor, Dr Roy Chung Chi-ping, GBS, JP, Founder and Chairman of the Bright Future Charitable Foundation; and other sponsors, Mr B K Leung, Chief Executive Officer of BC Reinsurance Limited; Mr Huang Liwei, Director of the Hong Kong New Emerging Technology Education Charity Foundation; Mr Augustine Lui Ngok-che, Chairman of the Lingnan Education Organization; Mr Ernest Chan Chi-man, Vice-President (Administration); and Ms Jessie Law Lai-chi, Director of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs.

In her opening address, Dr the Honourable Starry Lee said, “Lingnan University is distinguished for its commitment to liberal arts education, which prioritises holistic development and social service. In recent years, we have witnessed Lingnan's active expansion in research, seamlessly blending humanistic perspectives with technological innovation to offer students interdisciplinary and cross-sector learning experiences.” Dr Lee further emphasised that the theme of the Dinner is remarkably forward-looking. She noted that in the future, the key to success will be the ability to transform knowledge into meaningful contributions and to give back to society creatively. She remarked, "Lingnan University embraces a student-centred and socially-conscious approach, actively fostering interdisciplinary education and promoting research in sustainable development. The University connects academic knowledge with community needs, utilising technology and sustainability to improve lives."

Guests officiated at the kick-off ceremony. (From left: Ms Jessie Law, Mr Mason Wu, Mr Augustine Lui, Dr Patrick Wong, the Honourable Andrew Yao, Dr the Honourable Starry Lee, Dr Roy Chung, President S. Joe Qin, Mr B K Leung, Mr Huang Liwei and Mr Ernest Chan)

In his welcoming remarks, Chairman of the Council, the Honourable Andrew Yao, expressed sincere gratitude to all supporters whose contributions have propelled Lingnan forward. He said, “Funds raised from the Gala Dinner will be directly invested in various development initiatives of the University, including strengthening the cultivation of Lingnan students’ talents in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). Leveraging its unique geographical advantage adjacent to the Northern Metropolis, the University is actively fostering deeper collaboration with industry, academia and research institutions across the Greater Bay Area. These efforts will accelerate the translation and application of innovative research outcomes, further consolidating Lingnan’s position as a leading liberal arts research university integrating arts and sciences in the digital era. At the same time, we aim to nurture interdisciplinary talents equipped with both strong humanistic values and advanced technological expertise, contributing to the development of the nation and the Hong Kong SAR.”

Dr the Honourable Starry Lee, President of the Legislative Council, delivers the opening address.

In his speech, President Qin shared Lingnan’s series of groundbreaking “firsts” and expressed his special gratitude to Nobel Laureate in Physics Prof Samuel C.C. Ting for his support of the University. He said, “The ‘Samuel C.C. Ting Elite Class’, to be launched in the 2026/27 academic year, will provide top students with full scholarships, accommodation, and AI training. This elite education programme is personally endorsed by Prof Ting. Even more encouraging is that Lingnan ranked No. 1 in the world for ‘Quality Education’ in the 2025 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, achieved the highest growth rate in project funding from the Research Grants Council, and recorded the largest increases in JUPAS Band A applications for three consecutive years among Hong Kong SAR’s eight publicly funded universities, demonstrating the University’s strong teaching and research capabilities as well as its growing appeal to prospective students in the digital era.”

The Honourable Andrew Yao gives his welcoming remarks and expresses sincere gratitude to supporters.

President S. Joe Qin shares the University’s recent success.

The Dinner also showcased two initiatives promoting the integration of arts and sciences. Prof William Hayward, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, introduced the newly established Lingnan University Cognitive Science Research Centre, bringing together leading scholars in psychology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. The Centre will undertake a range of interdisciplinary and human-centred research projects, including using electroencephalography (EEG) to analyse children’s reading abilities to more accurately identify potential dyslexia, and investigating the neural mechanisms underlying risk decision-making under social influence. These research outcomes will be translated into practical applications to address the complex challenges of the digital era.

Officiating guests pose for a group photo along with Council members, distinguished scholars and senior management.

In addition, Prof Jonathan Fong, Associate Professor of the Division of Science, demonstrated advanced wildlife forensic techniques aimed at protecting endangered turtle species in Hong Kong SAR. The research plays a vital role in safeguarding local biodiversity and further exemplifies the University’s research capabilities in addressing social and environmental challenges.

Prof William Hayward introduces the Lingnan University Cognitive Science Research Centre.

The evening concluded with a captivating guzheng ensemble and street dance performances by Lingnan’s talented students, blending the essence of Eastern and Western cultures and highlighting the University’s creativity and youthful energy.

Prof Jonathan Fong showcases pioneering wildlife forensic techniques to protect endangered turtle species.

 

 As generative artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly widely used in translation, questions have been raised over whether it could eventually replace professional interpreters. A joint study led by Lingnan University found that while AI can improve translation efficiency, it is still less capable than professional interpreters of adapting language to context and preserving rhetorical and communicative effects. The researchers conclude that human judgement and oversight remain essential, particularly in politically, diplomatically, and culturally sensitive settings. These findings have been published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, a Nature Portfolio journal.

 

The research team from Lingnan University and the Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications analysed 16 Chinese-language speeches delivered at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) between 2008 and 2023, and compared the official English interpretations by professional UN conference interpreters with AI-generated translations produced by ChatGPT-4o, examining how each handled language in different contexts.

 

Before generating the AI translations, the researchers designed detailed prompts that included the speaker's official position, institutional background, year of delivery, audience, and broader sociopolitical stance in order to approximate the contextual information available to professional interpreters.

However, despite providing the AI model with extensive contextual information, they found major differences between AI-generated translations and human interpretations in both contextual understanding and translation strategies.

 

One key difference concerns the use of personal pronouns. As Chinese frequently omits subjects, professional interpreters were more likely to introduce pronouns such as “our” and “they” to reflect interpersonal meanings and relationships between speakers and audiences, reinforcing collective identity and shared responsibility. AI-generated translations, by contrast, tended to produce more literal renderings with fewer personal pronouns.

 

For example, a Chinese sentence referring to vaccines as a powerful weapon against the pandemic was rendered by a professional interpreter as:

“Vaccination is our powerful weapon against COVID-19.”

whereas ChatGPT-4o translated it as:

“Vaccines are a powerful weapon against the pandemic.”

 

The researchers found that the interpreter’s addition of “our” strengthened the sense of collective identity, while the AI translation adopted a more neutral tone.

The study also identified distinct differences in how obligation and responsibility were expressed. Professional interpreters were more likely to adjust modal verbs according to context, using expressions such as “should” and “need to” to convey persuasive rather than mandatory obligation. AI-generated translations, however, relied more heavily on “must” and passive constructions, making responsibility less explicit.

 

For example, the professional interpretation reads:

“We need to enhance coordinated global COVID-19 response and minimise the risk of cross-border virus transmission.”

whereas the AI translation states:

“International joint prevention and control must be strengthened, and the cross-border spread of the virus must be minimised.”

 

The researchers found that the AI version obscures the agent responsible for action by using passive constructions.

 

The study also examined culturally embedded metaphors. More than half (52.63 per cent) of the AI translations reduced culturally specific metaphors to their literal meanings, weakening their rhetorical force. By contrast, professional interpreters adopted more flexible strategies, preserving, adapting, and explaining metaphorical expressions according to context. In about one-third of the cases (31.6 per cent), interpreters retained the metaphor and also conveyed its intended meaning.

 

A joint study by Lingnan University analyses 16 Chinese-language speeches delivered at the United Nations General Assembly between 2008 and 2023, comparing AI-generated translations with professional conference interpreting. The researchers find that even when AI is provided with extensive contextual information and prompts, major differences remain in contextual understanding and translation strategies between AI and human interpreters.

One example involved the traditional Chinese metaphor of people travelling “in the same boat”. The professional interpreter translated it as:

 

“We are called upon by our times to unite as one and work together for mutual benefit and win-win progress like passengers in the same boat.”

While ChatGPT-4o rendered it as “Working together and achieving mutual benefits and win-win outcomes are the objective demands of our time.”

 

According to the researchers, the AI translation conveyed the general meaning, but omitted the metaphorical imagery and its rhetorical impact.

 

The team noted that ChatGPT-4o generally produces fluent and grammatically accurate translations capable of completing translation tasks effectively. However, drawing on socio-cognitive theory, the study argues that professional interpreters consider not only the source text itself but also factors such as the speaker's identity, communicative setting, audience, cultural background, stance, and rhetorical purpose when deciding how to translate. This suggests that current large language models have yet to replicate fully the human capacity to interpret context and cultural meaning.

 

Prof Wang Binhua, Professor of the Department of Translation and Head of the Centre for English and Additional Languages at Lingnan University, member of the SIG on Artificial Intelligence in Translation and Interpreting of the European Language Council (ELC), said “Large language models still face the challenge of the ‘black box’, meaning that the mechanisms through which they produce particular translations remain difficult to explain. Unlike professional interpreters, who work within established professional ethical standards and are accountable, AI systems generate translations by identifying patterns in large volumes of language data and do not possess an intrinsic ethical framework. In translation tasks that require careful attention to cultural meaning and contextual understanding, human interpreters remain indispensable in making informed judgements about interpersonal relationships, rhetorical choices, and cultural expression.”

 

Prof Wang Binhua, Professor of the Department of Translation and Head of the Centre for English and Additional Languages at Lingnan University.

He added that AI is better positioned to augment rather than replace professional translators and interpreters. When integrated with human expertise, AI has the potential to improve efficiency while leaving context-sensitive and culturally informed decision-making in human hands.

 

For the full research paper A tale of two ‘contexts’: ideological differences in the translations of UN political speeches by human interpreters and by ChatGPT4o, please visit: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-026-07877-7