Prof. Priscilla Leung: The Development of AI in Education Must Consider Moral, Civilizational, and Rule-of-Law Boundaries; Otherwise, Humanity Risks Being Replaced by AI

After six months of preparation, the Global University Presidents and Leaders Summit was successfully held today, with 55 university presidents and leaders and students from across the world participating throughout the event. Prof. Leung chose artificial intelligence (AI) as the core theme, driven by her heartfelt concern about the rapidly changing global landscape and the belief that people across nations must confront these challenges together.

In her speech, Prof. Leung referenced recent remarks made in Hong Kong by Jensen Huang, who stated that AI is the greatest invention of human society and emphasized that the AI era is no longer the future, it is already here. Prof. Leung said she agreed with this view but emphasized repeatedly that the world of AI is not this simple. If poorly governed, she warned, AI could replace humanity, and our children could become mere shells of humans, with behaviors dictated by AI.

To address this, she initiated the “Hong Kong Consensus on Use of AI in Teaching, Learning and Research in University (2024)”, calling on leading universities around the world to collaborate in advancing AI development responsibly, ensuring that it is always guided by morality and the rule of law. She emphasized that the boundaries of human civilization must not be limitless, and that AI teachers should not completely replace human educators.

At the opening ceremony of the summit, Prof. Leung used AI to greet the audience in eight different languages, including English, American English, French, Arabic, and even some South American languages. The audience was visibly excited by this sight and the topic of AI truly resonated with every speaker present.