AI literacy becoming essential governance asset

The global conversation about artificial intelligence has largely focused on computing power, models and data. Governments are in the race to build bigger supercomputers, attract top talent and subsidize semiconductor production. Yet none of these efforts makes a machine any wiser. The gap may not be in technology, but in how fast machines learn and how swiftly societies learn to live with them.

In this context, AI literacy is not merely an educational nicety but a governance asset. A society that understands the capabilities and limitations of AI is one that can leverage it effectively, assess its risks accurately and hold institutions accountable for deploying it responsibly. As AI reshapes everything from hiring to healthcare to education, the ability of citizens to engage with intelligent systems is as consequential as the capacity of nations to build them.

Teachers play a pivotal role in this transformation. Their focus is shifting from transmitting knowledge to designing learning: when answers are available in seconds, the key skill is not memorization but judgment — knowing which questions to ask, which answers to trust, and how to verify them. Across classrooms and conferences alike, educators broadly agree that AI is changing what students learn and how teachers teach. Teachers who work with AI, not against it, retain their essential role in guiding judgment.

The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2030, 39 percent of current skills will be reshaped, with AI and big data topping employer demand. UNESCO has responded by developing AI competency frameworks for teachers and students, while the OECD has proposed a four-domain AI literacy framework spanning engagement, creation, management and design. It is clear that AI literacy is becoming a core competency for the 21st century, just like reading and numeracy.

Hong Kong is positioning itself at the forefront of this transition. Starting from the 2025-26 academic year, the University of Hong Kong has made a six-credit AI literacy course compulsory. Other universities have followed suit, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a four-tier approach and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with course-level guidelines. In June, the government's digital education blueprint mandated at least 30 hours of digital education training for teachers every three years and integrated an AI literacy framework across grade levels.

These policies, which I have observed from within the system, reflect a growing expectation that AI competence is now an essential educational deliverable. The direction was visible at ACBC 2026, a conference hosted by the HKCT Institute of Higher Education with funding from the Research Grants Council. There, the vice-president for education at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University introduced WiseLearn, a platform that enables students to create their own AI tutors using verified course materials without needing to code. This platform turns learners from mere consumers of AI into its creators.

Hong Kong's approach is distinctive because it integrates AI literacy throughout the education pipeline, from primary schools to universities and lifelong learning. HKU SPACE, a private post-secondary education institution, has incorporated generative AI modules in its part-time courses. The CTIHE introduced an applied AI higher diploma in 2025 and an AI engineering degree for school leavers. These institutions, with fewer traditional constraints, can rapidly adapt to industry demand, piloting an emerging skill in months whereas formal validation can take years.

For vocational students, who come from diverse backgrounds, the stakes are particularly high as AI reshapes the workplace faster than ever. This is why industry engagement is integral to our model: CTIHE's professional education and training committee brings together industry leaders across sectors to co-design future skills, ensuring that the curriculum is informed by real-world needs.

Hong Kong's position as a "super connector" between the Chinese mainland and the world adds strategic significance. The mainland's "AI Plus Education" action plan, launched by five authorities in April 2026, makes AI a foundational course in universities nationwide. With its internationalized universities, English-medium instruction and common law framework, Hong Kong can be a laboratory for how AI literacy frameworks developed in different regulatory environments can work together — a challenge other countries will eventually face.

The challenges ahead are real. Hong Kong's publicly funded universities have adopted varied AI policies without a unified framework. Faculty training in AI is not yet institutionalized at the tertiary level, unlike the new requirements for school teachers. Also, the effectiveness of AI literacy education is rarely measured against outcomes, such as graduates' ability to use AI responsibly in their careers.

These challenges are precisely why AI literacy should be treated as a governance asset rather than just a component of the curriculum. Governments that invest in AI literacy are enhancing their institutional capacity to govern AI, adapting to technological changes swiftly. This capacity, often referred to as governance velocity, is becoming a strategic asset as important as any other in a nation's arsenal.

Countries that focus solely on building the largest models may not necessarily be best placed to govern them. Computing power can be acquired, but not institutional capacity. A society that has trained its citizens to understand the possibilities, limits and risks of intelligent systems has an advantage that technology alone cannot provide.

For Hong Kong, the opportunity is to embed AI literacy into its identity as an international education hub, complementing its strengths in finance and innovation. The lesson for other societies is clear: in the age of AI, the greatest competitive advantage is not just the ability to build machines, but to prepare people to live wisely with them.

The author is the associate vice-president of HKCT Institute of Higher Education. He writes in a personal capacity.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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