Hong Kong, June 2, 2025 – The United Nations University Institute in Macau (UNU Macau) conducted a training workshop titled “Demystifying Artificial Intelligence for Diplomats” at the British Consulate General Hong Kong. The event brought together around 30 diplomats and consular staff to build essential AI knowledge and practical skills tailored for diplomatic professionals.
Dr. Serge Stinckwich, head of research at UNU Macau, opened the workshop with an overview of AI’s evolution - from early theoretical foundations to today’s advanced large language models (LLMs). He elaborated on how LLMs operate by predicting sequence patterns, highlighting their capabilities, constraints, and the critical role of quality data. Dr. Stinckwich also addressed pressing AI risks such as misinformation, bias, and the opaque “black box” nature of AI systems. To foster engagement, he demonstrated AI’s unique perception of facial features, challenging conventional human intuition and prompting valuable discussions on interpretability.
Following this, Jia An Liu, a research assistant at UNU Macau, introduced generative AI tools and effective prompt engineering techniques. Participants explored how LLMs facilitate creative content generation, data clustering, and automated analysis. A real-world case study from the UNU Macau AI Conference 2025 illustrated how AI identified thematic patterns in proposal submissions, showcasing its utility in research support and knowledge management.
Pierre Le Coz, a visiting research assistant at UNU Macau, concluded the session by examining AI’s strategic potential in diplomacy and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He shared examples demonstrating AI’s role in scenario planning, stakeholder mapping, and policy modeling, emphasizing digital innovations as enablers of inclusive, data-driven governance.
UNU Macau expresses sincere gratitude to the British Consulate General Hong Kong for co-hosting and providing venue support for this workshop.
Committed to fostering responsible AI and global collaboration, UNU Macau looks forward to continued efforts in research, training and education in digital technologies for sustainable development.
For more information on UNU Macau’s training programs, please visit our webpage on training.
