Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR
Dr. Brian Wong is a HKU-100 Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. His research examines the ethics and dynamics of authoritarian regimes and their foreign policies, historical and colonial injustices, and the intersection of geopolitics, political and moral philosophy, and technology. At HKU, he serves as a Fellow at the Centre on Contemporary China and the World, sits on the Steering Committee for the Hong Kong Ethics Lab, and advises the Interdisciplinary Dynamics: Ethics, AI, and Society at the Institute of Data Science. He also serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Inquiry, having presented and written on issues of public philosophy for the Journal of Practical Ethics, the American Philosophical Association, and the Royal Institute of Philosophy. As a seasoned geopolitical strategist, Brian briefs prominent MNCs, hedge funds, family offices, and investors on macro risks in the Global South. Brian currently serves as a Non-resident Honorary Fellow at the Center for China Analysis, Asia Society, as well as a Fellow and Advisor on Strategy at the Oxford Global Society, an independent Oxford-based think-tank. He previously served as a Founding Fellow and then Board Member of Governance Partners Yangon (Asia) and the Founding Secretary of a youth thinktank based in Hong Kong. As a columnist at the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Brian contributes regularly to publications such as TIME, Foreign Policy, Aeon, Financial Times, Diplomat, Fortune, SCMP, Nikkei, Japan Times, the US-Asia Law Institute, E-IR, Institute of Art and Ideas, USCN Perception Monitor, Neican, and The Hindu, Brian's comments have been featured by the BBC, CNBC, The Atlantic, Nikkei, Al-Jazeera, and POLITICO. A Rhodes Scholar (2020) and Kwok Scholar, Brian holds a DPhil in Politics from Balliol College; MPhil in Political Theory (Distinction) from Wolfson College, and an MA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (Double First Class, 9th out of 240) from Pembroke College, University of Oxford. Brian has taught modules in politics to students at Oxford and Stanford Universities. As the Founding Editor-in-Chief and Board Chairman of the Oxford Political Review, Brian sits on the Advisory Board for Oxford's largest student publication and served on the Governing Body of the Oxford Union. He coached Eton College's debate programme for 4 years and was the first Hong Kong-born Chinese to have advanced to the open semifinals of the World Universities Debating Championships (2020). He sits on the Governing Body of the Hong Kong Debate and Speech Community.
I am honoured to have been appointed the inaugural Director of the Hong Kong Global AI Governance Hub, a research do-tank nested within Faculty of Arts, The University of Hong Kong with the mandate of advancing critical research into the agency and interests of small and middle powers, Sino-American AI grand strategy and collaboration, and the role of Hong Kong as a fledgling convening hub for AI governance, ethics, and safety. In this new role, I look forward to working with corporate and private sector entities in bolstering their AI resilience and literacy amidst intensifying geopolitical conflicts, as well as collaborators in research and academia in providing genuine insights fusing theory and practice on the front of governing AI.
I serve as an advisor (2024-6) to an interdisciplinary research cluster within the Institute of Data Sciences, as well as the Vice Chair of Organising Committee of the Inaugural Hong Kong Global AI Governance Conference 2026, a flagship high-level policy conference convening global thinkers and regional leaders in AI research, policy, and practice to explore a critical yet under-explored dimension of AI governance: inclusivity beyond the US-China binary. Eighty percent of the world’s population lives outside China and the United States. How should we meaningfully engage the proverbial “Rest of the World” in conversations about AI governance, regulation, and the future of AI?
I am pleased to be joining the Asia Society Centre for China Analysis family as a Non-resident Honorary Fellow.
Inquiry is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing work within in all areas of philosophy. It was founded by Arne Næss in 1958. The journal is a forum for presenting the best of philosophical thinking from a variety of perspectives. Inquiry publishes research articles, symposia, special issues, target articles, review essays, and critical discussions. I serve amongst the Associate Editors to the journal, tasked with reviewing and vetting submissions under the leadership of the Editor-in-Chief.
I am honoured and excited to have been nominated by the Faculty of Arts to serve as a HKU-100 Assistant Professor. I look forward to continually serving HKU in research, teaching, and service as a member of this wonderful community.
I serve as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Hong Kong. I am involved with the pioneering of the MA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics programme, as well as running the knowledge exchange portfolio for the department.