At the inaugural Hong Kong Embodied AI Industry Summit last week, I watched a robotic arm deftly manipulate objects with humanlike precision.

As the chief executive spoke of our city’s ambition to become a global AI hub, my initial awe was quickly replaced by a sense of optimism.

Yes, the technology is disruptive, but watching the synergy between engineers and academics, it became clear that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is not a passive victim of this revolution — we are actively building the lifeboat.

Employment data often paints a grim picture. In just three years, full-time vacancies for fresh graduates have plummeted from 80,000 to 31,000. Entry-level administrative roles have dropped by 90 per cent, and junior IT positions by 80 per cent. However, these figures, while stark, do not tell the whole story.

They reflect a necessary market correction and a shift in demand rather than a collapse. AI is not a job destroyer; it is a great filter, removing rote tasks and forcing a higher value on human ingenuity.

Crucially, Hong Kong’s education authorities have not been idle. Far from being a miserable system stuck in the past, our educational institutions have shown remarkable agility. The much-discussed reforms under the “334” framework and beyond have laid significant groundwork for this exact moment. The focus has shifted from rote memorization to fostering “learning to learn” capabilities.

Take the revamped senior secondary curriculum as an example. There has been a deliberate push toward interdisciplinary learning. The integration of “technology and living” and the expansion of applied learning (ApL) courses — often called “career-oriented studies” — are prime examples.

Hong Kong has always been a city of adaptation. The current anxiety surrounding AI is understandable, but it should not overshadow the significant progress that has been made so far. Our education authorities have already begun the heavy lifting, shifting the paradigm from producing clerks and coders to nurturing strategists and creators

These aren’t just add-ons; they are strategic moves to equip students with practical skills in data science, AI literacy, and entrepreneurship long before they reach university. The authorities recognized years ago that siloed knowledge would not survive the AI era.

Furthermore, the narrative around tertiary education is evolving positively. Universities like Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, with initiatives such as the “Prof E AI” program, are pioneering a new pedagogy. They are moving away from the traditional lecture hall model toward mentorship in complex problem-solving.

The HKSAR government’s HK$3 billion ($383 million) AI Subsidy Scheme is not merely a handout; it is a catalyst designed to bridge the gap between theoretical study and industrial application. It encourages the very kind of public-private partnership that transforms a nervous graduate into a confident professional.

For the class of 2026, the key is to leverage these resources. The old hierarchy of “knowledge first, skills second, attitude third” is being inverted. Today, attitude — curiosity and resilience — is paramount. But this doesn’t mean knowledge is obsolete. It means knowledge must be applied. Students who utilize the ApL courses and university-industry collaborations will find themselves not replaced by AI, but augmented by it. They are becoming “thinking partners” for the machines, focusing on the “why” and the “how” rather than just the “what.”

Of course, more can be done. We must continue to embed ethical literacy into every STEM course, ensuring that our future leaders understand the societal impact of the algorithms they deploy. The education system must double down on project-based learning, ensuring that every student, regardless of whether they study arts or sciences, graduates with a digital toolkit.

Hong Kong has always been a city of adaptation. The current anxiety surrounding AI is understandable, but it should not overshadow the significant progress that has been made so far. Our education authorities have already begun the heavy lifting, shifting the paradigm from producing clerks and coders to nurturing strategists and creators.

The robots are not coming to steal our children’s futures; they are coming to relieve them of the mundane, allowing them to focus on the profoundly human work of creation, connection, and leadership. With the solid foundation already laid by our education reforms, Hong Kong’s graduates are better positioned than ever to lead this new era. The future isn’t something we enter; it’s something we build, together, with our new machines.

The author is a veteran journalist based in Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.