"Publishing 3.0 - Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub" Scheme ("Publishing 3.0") encourages the local publishing industry to adopt cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence to promote industry transformation and upgrade, and to give Hong Kong publishing more development space and possibilities. "Publishing 3.0" is organized by the Hong Kong Publishing Federation (HKPF), sponsored by the HKSAR Government's Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) (formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK)), executed by the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society, and supported by the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre ("LSCM") under the Hong Kong Innovation & Technology Commission.
Based on the AI-empowered e-book conversion platform jointly developed by LSCM and HKPF, "Publishing 3.0" assists the industry in producing high-quality e-publications, and selects works with international market potential to create the "Hong Kong Smart E-Book Hub" brand, promoting it both locally and overseas, aiming to make Hong Kong a regional copyright center for e-books and audiobooks, bring Hong Kong's creative achievements to the world, and unleash the potential of the publishing industry.
"Publishing 3.0" includes:
Conversion Platform
In the process of publishing, human translation can be time-consuming and relatively expensive. However, using artificial intelligence for translation can significantly reduce the time and the resources, while also minimizing reliance on human translators. Therefore, LSCM supports HKPF in developing an "AI-powered e-book conversion platform" (the Platform). After registering as a user, the publishing industry can use the AI translation technology within the platform for free to quickly translate Chinese publications into English drafts, while also converting them into bilingual e-books. With the "Text to Speech" (TTS) technology, the e-books can also be converted into audiobooks in Cantonese, Putonghua and English.
Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub
"Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub" gathers high-quality Hong Kong published Chinese publications with international market potential. The first batch of over a thousand selected local Chinese e-books (some of which have audiobook versions) will be released at the 2023 Hong Kong Book Fair. The selected e-books cover five categories: Living & Social Lives,
History & Biography, Medical Healthcare, Literature & Fiction, Finance & Business. "Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub" also provides categorical/keyword searches. After registering on the Platform, the industry and readers can preview the e-books and audiobooks (where applicable) online.
At the same time, "Publishing 3.0" will promote "Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub" in Hong Kong and overseas markets in the second half of 2023, to enable more publishers and readers to become aware of the Hub.