Original Source
Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan: Web3-AI Convergence Will Reshape Game Rules Amid Challenges
Web3 and AI Convergence: New Opportunities and Challenges
Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan stated at the opening of the '2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival' that the cross-convergence of Web3 and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change the 'game rules.' He highlighted the rise of AI agents as a significant milestone, predicting that their combination will elevate transaction efficiency to unprecedented levels across diverse fields such as finance, trade, wealth management, supply chain operations, and logistics. This will create immense new opportunities while simultaneously presenting serious challenges.
Three Core Challenges for Future Development
Secretary Paul Chan outlined three core challenges that the convergence of Web3 and AI technologies will face. First, the issue of infrastructure and standard synergy: if AI can perform complex operations in milliseconds, then related financial infrastructure, such as payments and settlements, must also upgrade to match this speed. Second, human control and safety concerns: as AI agents gain increasing autonomous decision-making capabilities, clear 'guardrails' must be established to ensure their behavior is predictable, traceable, and subject to effective human interaction. Third, establishing a regulatory and accountability framework: the rise of decentralization and digital intelligence does not imply weakened accountability or lowered standards; instead, it necessitates clearer rules adapted to the new environment. He also noted that Hong Kong issued its first stablecoin issuer license earlier this month, cautiously and progressively advancing related work.
*Source: 香港商报, dotdotnews (2026-04-20)*
