The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s first artificial intelligence-themed community living room opened in Mong Kok, Yau Tsim Mong, on Monday, bringing together AI learning applications, smart health and interactive facilities under one roof alongside various everyday living amenities.

The 12th such space in the city, the 490-square-meter venue is the second-largest and the first to run on a five-year term — a departure from the standard three-year arrangement for similar initiatives — with, among others, a “pioneering objective” to offer Hong Kong’s disadvantaged communities a firsthand look at how technology is driving social development, said partners involved in the initiative at the launch ceremony.

ALSO READ: Community living with AI learning

The project is the result of a tripartite collaboration among the government, the private sector and the grassroots community. Operated by the New Home Association, it benefits from venue sponsorship from Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd and Cheng Cheung-ling, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Friendship Association. Its operating costs are covered by the government-backed Community Care Fund.

The space is expected to serve around 500 families and accommodate 80,000 visits each year, Acting Chief Secretary for Administration Warner Cheuk Wing-hing said at the event.

Cheuk in his remarks praised the community living space as “practical”, “enriching” and “hands-on”, noting its expansive functional areas — which notably feature a prayer room and the first standalone Muslim meal preparation kitchen among the community living rooms in the city — as well as its diverse services like AI education programs for children.

He said that the government will also support the facility by supplying food and daily necessities to help ease the financial burden on underprivileged families.

Cheuk noted that the Yau Tsim Mong district has the highest concentration of subdivided flats in Hong Kong, where families are forced to endure prolonged periods of cramped living.

The SAR government has long placed great emphasis on the well-being of grassroots residents and actively pursues initiatives to provide them with resources, Cheuk said, citing the community living room as a prime example.

“The space is aimed to give underprivileged families a comfortable place to do chores, rest, and connect, enabling them to feel the warmth of home and a sense of community care,” he added.

Addressing the event, Cheng — one of the project’s venue sponsors — said she was pleased to see the variety of advanced learning tools — such as computers and programming software — on offer at the community living room and that she hopes, through this project, “everyone in Hong Kong can embrace advanced technology”.

Cheng pledged to continue her support next year, with plans to back another community living room designed specifically for children, themed around other cutting-edge sectors such as aerospace, aviation and chip-making.

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com