Amid mounting scrutiny over the integrity of an award-winning AI project, the Hong Kong representative of the Geneva Invention Awards has issued a response to HK Business Wire, addressing allegations tied to a student-developed platform, Medisafe. The project recently won multiple international and local accolades, including at the Geneva Invention Exhibition and the Hong Kong ICT Awards.
“We note the case and are also made aware of the announcement by the other body in Hong Kong that bestowed the HK award previously, to review the case,” said Andrew Young, the Hong Kong representative of the Geneva Invention Awards. “We will certainly take note of such findings and also engage our own judging panel to review and determine any action if appropriate.”
Young added that the Geneva event is judged by over 110 professionals across fields who “rely on information provided by the participant to the judges.” This raises questions about whether the information submitted for the Medisafe project was sufficiently transparent, particularly in relation to reported third-party involvement and personal data privacy.
The controversy began when internet users discovered that the Medisafe AI platform was in fact heavily participated by a U.S.-based firm, AI Health Studio, for a private medical centre founded by the student’s father. A blog post by the vendor—now deleted but archived by users—had named the centre as the client and featured the project as a case study.
Critics have raised concerns over academic integrity, as well as the potential privacy breach of patients. The student claimed that more than 70 doctors had already adopted the platform. However, it remains unclear whether patients gave informed consent for their data to be shared with OpenAI’s API, or whether doctors were aware the tool was being used as part of a student project submitted for public competitions.
The Digital Policy Office, organiser of the Hong Kong ICT Awards, has also confirmed that it is launching a formal investigation into the incident, along with the Quality Assurance Working Group. Meanwhile, the Education Bureau revealed that the student’s entry into the Geneva Invention Exhibition was managed by a third-party contractor and selected from a pool of over 80 local entries through a judging panel.
Despite the ongoing scandal, Medisafe is listed as one of the projects participating in the upcoming Hong Kong Science Fair 2025, scheduled for June 28–29 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Meanwhile, Hailey—the whistleblower who first questioned the originality of the Medisafe project—revealed that she had been contacted by an affiliated organisation, which relayed that one of their sponsors had expressed concern over the unfolding controversy. She was advised to pause posting for a while. In addition, Hailey reported receiving threatening messages on Threads, where anonymous users warned her to delete her posts and implied that she was unaware of “the lines she was crossing.” Disturbingly, her photo was also used without consent to create a fake LinkedIn profile, which falsely listed her as a sex worker.
While there are currently no confirmed penalties or disqualifications, both local and international bodies are now reviewing the project. The case continues to stir debate over the role of packaging, outsourcing, and verification in youth science competitions, with particular focus on ethical boundaries in AI applications.
