"Authentic technological innovation requires an environment that is conducive to the cultivation of one's dignity and soul."
This is the belief of Suen Wai-mo, a winner of the InnoStars Award 2019.
The founder and CEO of ClusterTech rushed over from the Science Park for our meeting.
Over lunch, he told me how he chose to read physics instead of the Chinese language because "you can learn Chinese through self-study, but not physics."
Suen subsequently continued his studies in the United States, completing a doctoral thesis related to the theory of relativity, while his interest in computing technology grew over the years.
When he returned to the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1999, he wanted to promote computing technology but could not get import approval for a 24-node supercomputer from the United States .
"At that point, I realized Hong Kong was lagging behind in this kind of technology," he said.
Catching up would require more than just importing supercomputers, as that would mean relying on others, so he decided to "use computing technology to create value for enterprises."
To this end, he set up ClusterTech in 2000 to provide computing solutions for national institutions and enterprises.
"The director of a movie production house needed dialogue for a scene and wanted to find out how street sleepers talk. AI was able to provide the answer," Suen said.
AI can also predict viewership for a TV drama, and whether a product would be welcome by customers.
"Our services are able to provide such data, which are extremely reliable," he said.
In this field, Suen is a pioneer. But being a pioneer may not always end well, he admitted.
"Employing cutting-edge computing technology to run in the forefront could incur higher costs and lower, or even in zero, returns. You could even become a martyr."
He believes a "human-oriented" approach is important.
"My mission is simple - promote modern computing technology to enhance productivity on the one hand, cultivate human dignity and soul on the other," he said.
"Where good management is concerned," he said, "the leader is not a shepherd dog, but a sheep that runs in front of his team, whose members look out for one another."
On computational science, he said, "When AlphaGo beat a Go master at the game, it let the public know more about AI. AI provides solutions to problems, and that is what we do at ClusterTech."
Terence Chang Cheuk-cheung is the retired headmaster of Diocesan Boys School
