Generative Artificial Intelligence for Social Good and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

I co-founded this initiative with Prof. Nancy Law from HKU’s Faculty of Education in 2023. The aim was to explore an approach for empowering students to use AI for social good and impact. The event leverages a 1-month extended hackathon format to accommodate learning, collaboration, and attention to social sustainability challenges. For more information regarding the event, visit http://www.hack4sdg.com.

About

Key achievements:

  • Secured a HK$250,000 Fund for Information Technology Education (FITE) grant provided by the Hong Kong University Grants Committee.
  • In 2023, the HKU competition was participated in by over 150 students with 20 teams formed.
  • In 2024, the initiative was expanded from an HKU event to include a partnership with City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Hong Kong Baptist University. Microsoft also contributed as a technical sponsor. The event was participated in by 250 students with 71 teams formed, mostly mixed disciplines and cross-institutional, focusing on social issues around ageing populations, sustainable food and waste, and inclusive cities.
  • In 2025, the event is co-organised with all 8 of Hong Kong’s publicly-funded universities, with the Alibaba Cloud as our technical sponsor, with over 500 students.

Related Publications:

Law, N., Wang, N., Ma, M., Liu, Z., Lei, C.U., Feng, S. Hu, X., Tsao, J. (2025) The Role of Generative AI in Collaborative Problem Solving of Authentic Challenges. The British Journal of Educational Technology. http://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.70010

Hong Kong’s Collaborative AI Revolution in Higher Education: A Model for Global Innovation. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 20 Nov 2024. https://www.ugc.edu.hk/doc/eng/ugc/publication/storybank/20241120che.pdf

Tsao. J. (2024, Jan 30) AI Literacy through Social Entrepreneurship. Leveraging AI For Change in Education Conference. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology & Chinese University of Hong Kong. 30 Jan 2024.