Positioning Vietnam in the AI era

The world is entering the era of artificial intelligence (AI), also known as the AI era, when AI technologies are being widely integrated into many aspects of society and economy.

Many countries and large technology corporations are racing to invest in AI development as this market is predicted to reach trillions of USD. Where is Vietnam in this race?

In Tan An City, Long An Province, the police have been implementing fines for traffic violations since October 2023 with more than 100 cameras installed at 22 key traffic locations. These cameras are all integrated with the AI image recognition platform VNPT SmartVision of VNPT Group.

The cameras automatically record images of violations and transmit all data of violations such as running red lights, encroaching on lanes, speeding, illegal parking, going the wrong way, not wearing helmets and other violations to the Tan An Police camera monitoring center.

From there, the police will handle the violations and notify the vehicle owner or driver to resolve the issue. After only six months, Tan An Police said that compliance with traffic safety laws was better, with the number of violations reduced by 80%.

Tan An City (Long An) installed 121 AI cameras at 22 traffic locations on the roads, helping to reduce 80% of traffic violations - Photo: MAI HONG

Even the people feel the effectiveness of the cameras. Ms. Vo Thu Phuong (Tan An City) shared: "Since the surveillance cameras were installed, the awareness of passersby has been raised.

Before, anyone who wanted to stop or park on the street could pull over and turn around at will... Now everyone is aware and reminds each other. If not, a camera somewhere will record it and they will receive a fine, so everyone is afraid and has to comply."

Meanwhile, residents living in many modern apartments are often given magnetic cards to enter the apartment area or use the elevator. This is a measure to ensure security, to prevent strangers from entering the apartment. However, a disadvantage is that residents always have to carry the card with them, which can easily be lost...

Faced with this situation, VinBigdata Company has developed a facial access control solution called Vizone Access. Residents only need to register their faces with the management board to be able to freely enter and exit the security gate and use the elevator without having to carry a magnetic card with them.

This is a solution belonging to the intelligent image analysis solution set applying AI technology and Vizone computer vision developed by VinBigdata engineers.

VinDr (VinBigdata) becomes the first AI product for mammography diagnosis in Vietnam to be recognized by the FDA - Photo: DUC HOANG

Another AI application that has been deployed and shown to be effective in state agencies is the Online Reporting Information System of the Ministry of Information and Communications (now the Ministry of Science and Technology) developed by Viettel Data and AI Service Center (Viettel AI).

The new system has helped information and communication departments reduce the number of reports from 132 reports/year to 12 reports/year, equivalent to cutting 7,560 reports/year.

Viettel eKYC electronic customer identification service resolves quickly, saves time identifying customers and ensures data safety and accuracy - Photo: DUC THO

At the GenAI Summit 24 conference held in Vietnam in August 2024, many leading experts both at home and abroad assessed that Vietnam has many advantages in developing AI, thanks to its market, human resources and startup ecosystem.

"Vietnam is in a unique position to lead AI innovation in Southeast Asia and beyond," said Nguyen Duc Toan, country director of Google Cloud, commenting on Vietnam's unique advantages compared to the world and the region.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim attends the announcement ceremony of the establishment of the National AI Office in December 2024 - Photo: BERNACCA

Regarding support policies, the Vietnamese market is receiving great support from the Government and domestic corporations such as Viettel and Vingroup to be able to catch the "hot" AI wave.

Dr. Le Viet Quoc, a senior expert from Google, said: "The Vietnamese government has been introducing many policies to encourage startups and investment in technology. This creates favorable conditions for AI businesses to develop and compete in the international market."

Regarding the ecosystem, according to statistics, Vietnam has attracted more than 1 billion USD in investment in technology startups in 2023.

The rapid growth of the startup ecosystem has reached a level of maturity comparable to Singapore and Malaysia, demonstrating the potential for innovation and the ability to create breakthrough AI solutions.

In terms of talented human resources, Vietnam is considered to have a good educational tradition, especially in the fields of mathematics and science, creating a high-quality human resource for the AI industry.

Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ke Yong listens to a presentation on AI initiatives in the healthcare sector at the AI in Healthcare Technology Exhibition in November 2024 - Photo: Reuters

According to Dr. Luong Minh Thang, senior researcher at Google DeepMind: "Vietnamese students have a strong passion for mathematics, which puts them in a good position to excel in the new era of AI-driven reasoning."

Vietnamese students also regularly achieve high results in international mathematics competitions, demonstrating their ability to think logically and solve problems - skills necessary for AI development.

Regarding international cooperation, Vietnam has cooperated with large technology corporations such as Google, investing heavily in training human resources for the future. Google committed to awarding 40,000 Google Career Certificates scholarships or training 200 Vietnamese startups in AI-related fields through the Google AI Startups Masterclass program, promoting the development of the AI startup ecosystem.

This not only helps build a high-quality workforce but also creates great opportunities for startups in the AI field.

In particular, Dr. Vu Duy Thuc, who received a PhD in AI from Stanford University (USA) and founder of OhmniLabs, "revealed" a huge advantage in terms of human resources in the AI field of Vietnam: in large corporations around the world, there are Vietnamese people holding important positions.

Despite its potential, Vietnam still faces many challenges in building AI infrastructure and attracting talent, especially in the fields of mathematics and science. Wendy Uyen Nguyen, co-founder and president of the non-profit Rethink Healthcare Foundation, stressed the need for rapid training and education in AI, especially in the healthcare sector, where AI can have a significant impact.

Vietnam is transforming strongly in the digital era with clear breakthroughs in digital economy, digital society, and digital government. Many achievements of a Digital Vietnam have been marked on the world technology map.