Microelectronic Innovation

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. STUDY - 08:45

6. 
   

7. PETER is dressing up.

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9. PETER (V.O.): Today is HKUST's Industry Engagement Day +. As the vice-chair of HKUST's Knowledge Transfer Committee, I must support it.

10. 
    

11. Peter checks an email.

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13. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Experts will talk about strengthening Hong Kong's electronics industry via microelectronic innovation.

14. 
    

15. Recalling.

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17. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): When I joined the Intellectual Property Dept in 1992, my job responsibility was to design and build Hong Kong's intellectual property (IP) system.

18. 
    

19. Recalling.

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21. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The first IP bill I had to design was "Layout-design (topography) of integrated circuits".

22. 
    

23. Recalling.

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25. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Thus, I had to learn what exactly was the subject matter of protection. That was my first real taste of science.

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27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. INT. CAR PARK - 09:00

30. 
    

31. As Peter points a remote control key at a blue MB, it doesn't respond.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.): I've left the car idle for days to check its battery life. It's dead.

34. 
    

35. Peter goes to start his silver coupe. It starts instantly.

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Before fixing certain parts of its MCU, it could be naughty.

38. 
    

39. INT. LECTURE THEATRE, HKUST - 10:00

40. 
    

41. Crowded with researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs. After a photo session, (Peter included), SPEAKER#1 makes the opening remarks.

43. SPEAKER#1: Microelectronic focuses on miniaturizing electronic circuits enabling higher integration, improved performance, and increased functionality...

44. 
    

45. PETER (V.O.): The professor highlights innovation. Yes! We need to breakthrough and disrupt, even though it's hard.

46. 
    

47. Then, SPEAKER#2 speaks.

48. 
    

49. SPEAKER#2: ...on research and industry collaboration....watch the news tomorrow...

50. 
    

51. We hear: Domain Specific Language (DSL)...specialized to a particular application domain...

52. 
    

53. PETER (V.O.): As members of the public, I've been using General Purpose Language (GPL) models.

54. 
    

55. Then, SPEAKER#3 speaks with slides. We see: Navigating the evolving global semiconductor landscape...

56. 
    

57. SPEAKER#3: ...What I want to highlight is spatial computing...a technology that enables computers to blend in in a natural way...

58. 
    

59. PETER (V.O.): The next big thing? I can't even imagine what it will be?

60. 
    

61. Then, SPEAKER#4 speaks with slides. We see: RISC - V emerges as battleground in US-China tech war...

62. 
    

63. PETER (V.O.): I don't even know what is "RISC"?

64. 
    

65. Researching with his smartphone, Peter reads the results.

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67. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In computer science, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) is a computer architecture designed to simplify instructions.

68. 
    

69. Pausing.

70. 
    

71. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): RISC - V is an open-source instruction set architecture (ISA) based on RISC principles.

72. 
    

73. We hear the Speaker#4 mentioning "ARM".

74. 
    

75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Sounds familiar...

76. 
    

77. Peter researches with his smartphone again.

78. 
    

79. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): "ARM" (Advanced RISC Machines) is a proprietary ISA that has become the dominant choice for embedded systems and mobile phones.

80. 
    

81. Then, SPEAKER#5 speaks with slides. We see: Key Market Drivers: Advanced Communication, AI/Big Data, AIoT/IoT, Electric Vehicles/Autonomous Driving.

82. 
    

83. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As an IC assembler, his company is smart to supply what the market demands.

84. 
    

85. Then, SPEAKER#6 speaks with slides. We see: How enterprises are using Generative AI?

86. 
    

87. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): His employer company is one of the top 10 most valuable companies in the world. Apart from hardware, it's turning to software as well.

88. 
    

89. Listening attentively about less, moderate and extensive customerization.

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91. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's entrepreneurship at a high level.

92. 
    

93. Then, SPEAKER#7 speaks with slides. We see: ...Ultra-low power embedded AI accelerators for AIoT...Neural network compression adapts to hardware accelerator...

94. 
    

95. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The professor has skipped the details already...

96. 
    

97. Pausing.

98. 
    

99. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't even know for a jump-started car, whether its dead battery can survive the trip to a car battery store!

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. INT. STUDY - 23:00

105. Typing natural language in his smartphone, Peter gives instructions to his 文心一言 assistant.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O.): See if she can visualize microelectronic innovation in the postmodern style.

108. 
     

109. As his assistant responds, Peter sees a surreal AI image appearing.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I like it! Microelectronic innovation will lead to further breakthrough in AI.

112. 
     

113. Staring at the AI drawing on microelectronic innovation.

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115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There'll be new possibilities on computer vision, natural language processing, robotics and personalized AI systems.

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117. FADE OUT

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119. THE END