Speaking at the Belt and Road Summit on Thursday, Ellen Lau Sin-tung, executive director of technology training company Preface AI, highlighted a significant gap between corporate leadership and frontline staff during digital transformation efforts.
She noted that corporate leaders often expressed frustration over AI adoption as employees were often held back by the fear, “Is AI replacing me?”
“Even though the company is trying to find the best engine for the staff, if they do not have the literacy to adopt it, they might not be able to do that [transformation],” Lau told an audience at a panel discussion, titled “From innovation to implementation: Hong Kong’s AI advantage in Belt and Road Initiative”, co-organised by the South China Morning Post. The belt and road scheme is China’s plan to grow global trade.
AI literacy was important to help people differentiate between various AI models and understand AI agents, she said.
Lau said that senior management needed to work hand in hand with frontline staff and tell them: “We are actually also navigating the change in the world as senior leaders. So I am learning myself. You are also learning with us.”
She added: “We have to be so humble to learn about all the unknowns and the changes in the market, but we are also very bold to try out different new things.”
