Our Hong Kong based Ambassadors had the opportunity to plunge straight into the hot topics buzzing around Internet Governance. The 2nd Hong Kong Internet Governance Forum Roundtable hosted by Internet Society HK with support from the Hon. Charles Mok’s office at LegCo. Our NetMission participants experienced a dynamic and vibrant insight into “Artificial Intelligence and Ethics”. With industry heavyweights from IBM and Microsoft, joined by Charles Mok and members of the startup scene the discussion certainly carried considerable weight.

The discourse started with general concerns around AI, and the ongoing challenge of developing best practices and accountable mechanisms that are able to flexibly adapt to rapidly changing innovations. On the other hand a completely different challenge was presented by tech startups, where they simply did not have the scale of resources or established framework to directly address many angles of consideration. The floor raised yet deeper conceptual questions, such as the use of Artificial Intelligence in military applications, and the seemingly inevitable use of such technology in both offline and online surveillance. The discussion was rounded off by legal expert Prof. Angela Daly, who was also a guest speaker at the NetMission Academy and offered an alternative angle on the issues.

A special mention is deserving of Sherry Shek who helped organise the event as part of her work with ISOC HK, and we are proud to count her among our NetMission Alumni.

To a more international scope, NetMission Ambassadors have submitted 3 workshop proposals for IGF 2019 in Berlin. We have high expectations for their collective efforts and wish them the best of luck in the evaluation process. You can view their proposals in the links below.

Looking forward we are building off our momentum coordinating this year’s edition of HKyIGF, which will be held near the end of May. Follow our socials @NetMission for updates and special content from our ambassadors.

http://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2019-ws-315-youth-in-ig-for-internet-ethics-digital-inclusion

http://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2019-ws-327-internetdigital-technologies-can-contribute-to-sdgs

http://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2019-ws-236-a-universal-data-protection-framework-how-to-make-it-work

This.Is.Asia Newsletter Issues

AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Mou Mukherjee

AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Mou Mukherjee

In some ways, I abandoned my culture when I was young because I was trying so hard to fit in. My parents were, and still is very cultural. Growing up, there was always Indian music playing, our house was full of Bengali literature, my Dad’s hero was poet Rabindranath Tagore, and he also loved the films of Satyajit Ray. I was surrounded by culture and yet I couldn’t fully embrace it at the time.

read more
Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节快乐

Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节快乐

中秋节与春节丶清明节丶端午节并称为中国四大传统节日。受中华文化的影响,中秋节也是东亚和东南亚一些国家尤其是当地的华人华侨的传统节日。     中秋节,农历八月十五,又称仲秋节丶拜月节丶女儿节或团圆节,是中国的传统文化节日,因其恰值三秋之半,故名中秋。中秋节始於唐朝初年,盛行於宋朝,至明清时,已成为与春节齐名的中国主要节日之一。   2006年5月20日,中国国务院在中央政府门户网上发出通知,批准文化部确定并公布中秋节例在第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录。自2008年起中秋节被列为国家法定节假日。...

read more
How I See It – Privacy Controversy: Trigger of largest digital migration in history

How I See It – Privacy Controversy: Trigger of largest digital migration in history

Technology giants, or Big Tech as they are called, have become intertwined extensively with our everyday lives. Early in 2021, Facebook decided to take a step ahead in monetising Whatsapp. This was to be enabled by the changes in the terms outlined in its updated privacy policy. One fine day, users woke up to the notification for the proposed changes in its Privacy Policy. This paved the way to an international conversation about privacy, and also triggered widespread adoption of alternatives to Whatsapp such as Signal and Telegram.

read more