Hong Kong to Launch Four AI Projects to Enhance 1823 Public Service Efficiency and User Experience

Digital Policy Office leverages AI to enhance 1823 services and provide all-round support for AI adoption by government departments

The Digital Policy Office (DPO) announced today (August 27) that it will launch four AI Efficacy Enhancement Projects to upgrade 1823 services, and provide all-round support for government departments in applying AI, to drive the "AI+" transformation of public service.

The Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Daniel Cheung, said at a briefing, "AI is rapidly transforming the mode of public services. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Government is actively driving an 'AI+' public service transformation to enhance government efficiency and optimise citizens' user experience with AI. The DPO will spearhead and provide support in the process, assisting various departments in adopting AI safely and effectively."

Strengthening AI application in 1823 services

Managed by the DPO, 1823 serves as an important platform for communication between the Government and the public, handling over 7.5 million enquiries and complaints last year. In recent years, 1823 has been continuously enhancing its digital self-service offerings, including an intelligent interactive telephony system employing voice recognition technology to identify call enquiries and disseminate relevant information; an enhanced 1823 chatbot to answer enquiries on e-forms; and the launch of an online 1823 Case Status Enquiry service for the public to conveniently check the progress of cases on their own.

To continuously upgrade 1823 services, the DPO, under the leadership of the AI Efficacy Enhancement Team, will roll out four AI Efficacy Enhancement Projects: "Call Assistant", "Email Extraction", "Prioritisation of Departments' Replies" and "Dashboard". These are expected to be launched this year.

• "Call Assistant" -utilises speech recognition technology and large language models (LLM) to transcribe phone conversations on specific topics into text in real-time and automatically generate case summaries. It isprojected to reduce after-call work time by 15 per cent;
• "Email Extraction" -employs LLM to analyse the content of public emails and automatically extract case data on specific topics into the customer service management system. It is anticipated to reduce manual data entry time by 30 per cent;
• "Prioritisation of Departments’ Replies" -uses AI to analyse emails and automatically identify cases requiring priority handling, with the identification time expected to be drastically shortened from two days to a few hours; and
• "Dashboard" -leverages AI to consolidate data of cases related to people's livelihood and visualises the data on a dashboard. Itrefers the issues to the responsible departments at the district level for follow-up, and urges them to take appropriate action to help improve district governance.

Additionally, the DPO plans to launch the 1823 web application on the "iAM Smart" platform in the fourth quarter to replace the existing 1823 mobile app, allowing the public to access 1823 services directly through the "iAM Smart" platform.

All-round support for departments in AI adoption

Meanwhile, the DPO is providing all-round support for departments in adopting AI to drive public service transformation.

The Government Cloud Infrastructure Services provides secure and reliable private cloud services, shared advanced AI computing power, LLM and AI development tools covering core capabilities such as text comprehension, image generation, knowledgebase creation, and process automation. This enables departments to develop digital and smart government services in a more reliable, flexible, secure, and cost-effective manner. The Government Cloud Infrastructure Services currently supports over 60 bureaux/departments, powering more than 600 digital government services.

Furthermore, since July this year, these government private cloud services have supported document assistance tools developed by the Hong Kong Generative AI Research and Development Center. These tools facilitate tasks such as document writing, translation, drafting of meeting minutes, and smart searches, facilitating departments to handle confidential materials.

In the course of public service transformation enabled by "AI+", the DPO is also proactively building a support system by bringing in market expertise. This includes providing AI advisory services, project strategy and hands-on support for government departments, as well as offering AI training for civil servants at different levels, covering basic awareness, professional skills, and leadership decision-making, thereby laying a solid foundation for the development of "AI+" public service.

In the coming months, the DPO will develop two innovative AI services: the "iAM Smart" AI Assistant and AI Agents. The "iAM Smart" AI Assistant will allow the public to ask questions in common everyday language and instantly receive information and related service links from the "iAM Smart" mobile app, facilitating one-stop completion of tasks. Paying heed to the principles of ensuring the prudent and progressive adoption of AI, the DPO is making arrangements to deploy AI Agents within the Government. These Agents will assist government personnel in handling standardised and repetitive administrative tasks using intelligent AI in a secure, stable, and compliant environment. This will allow human resources to focus on more complex matters requiring professional judgement, thereby enhancing work efficiency. It is planned to pilot the AI Agents within the Government in the fourth quarter.

Digital Policy Office leverages AI to enhance 1823 services and provide all-round support for AI adoption by government departments Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Digital Policy Office leverages AI to enhance 1823 services and provide all-round support for AI adoption by government departments Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Digital Policy Office leverages AI to enhance 1823 services and provide all-round support for AI adoption by government departments Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Two incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes

Two incoming Mainland passengers were sentenced to ten months' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000, and eight months' imprisonment with a fine of $2,000, respectively by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today today (August 27) for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).

Customs officers intercepted an incoming Mainland female passenger, aged 42, at Hong Kong International Airport on August 7 and seized about 130 800 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $588,600 and a duty potential of about $432,400, from her personal baggage. The passenger was subsequently arrested and was sentenced to ten months' imprisonment and fined $1,000 today.

In addition, Customs officers intercepted an incoming Mainland male passenger, aged 41, at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (August 26). About 76 800 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarettes were seized from his personal baggage. The estimated market value was about $384,000, and the duty potential was about $253,900. He was subsequently arrested and was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment and fined $2,000 today.

Customs welcomes the sentences. The custodial sentences have imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences.

Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Two incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Two incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases