Macao launches AI development association to boost Greater Bay Area collaboration

The Greater Bay Area (Macao) Artificial Intelligence Development Association launched at an inauguration ceremony at Macau Tower on 5 June, aiming to advance AI use in Macao and strengthen the city’s AI exchange across the Greater Bay Area (GBA).

In his opening address, Joe Liu – founder and general assembly president of the association and director of Macao-based marketing and media firm MOME – outlined the group’s three key goals, beginning with talent cultivation. 

“I firmly believe that AI should not replace humans, but rather serve as an assistant, enabling us to achieve greater stability and reach new heights,” he said. “To this end we aspire to train the youth to utilise AI in their professions.”

The association also aims to deepen AI education, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to strengthen Macao’s AI connectivity and collaboration within the GBA and beyond.

On the sidelines of the event, Liu said that AI adoption in Macao was still in its infancy. While residents know how to use the tools to answer questions and generate photos and videos, he said there is still insufficient understanding of how to apply AI at work, in education and for personal development.

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Liu said the association had already begun rolling out initiatives to promote AI education in Macao. It has partnered with Junior Chamber International (JCI) Macao to deliver lectures on AI to students, with plans to host further talks and courses for various industries alongside other associations.

“Hopefully, over time, we can build an effective database of AI elites who know how to utilize AI to help everybody’s life and work on a daily basis,” Liu said. 

To help local businesses adopt AI in practical ways, the association is also partnering with the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau. Liu said the collaboration would first focus on marketing support, professional education and training, as well as help developing an AI agent platform.

Asked by The Bay why he incorporated the Chinese white dolphin into the association’s logo, Liu said the endangered creature symbolises how AI is upending everyone’s lives: if people fail to adapt to and understand the technology, he said, humans risk becoming endangered like the dolphins. Liu added that the choice also reflected his love of marine life and the ocean. 

As part of the ceremony, the association’s inaugural board members and supervisors were sworn in. Alongside general assembly president Liu, his deputies include Derek Chui, Arnaldo Ho, Andrew Lui, Vincent Tung, Ting Leong, Chao Ka Chon, Tong Kai Chung, Alan Tam and Shen Ping. Man Wong was named chair of the board of directors.

The ceremony was followed by a seminar on how companies can use AI agents to transform their operations. Speakers included influencer and AI educator Rannes Man; the general manager of technology education firm Geek Bang, Yin Huisheng; Xue Bing of the Shanghai AI Industry Association, and the founder of tech firm AI Labo, Wong Kam Man.