Nearly two-thirds (62.5 per cent) of surveyed businesses have taken steps to transform their technology but only 13.6 per cent said that they have invested in artificial intelligence (AI) for some of their activities, according to a survey from Vietnam Report released at the Vietnam CEO Summit 2018 with the theme “The Age of AI and Vietnamese Enterprises” and held in Hanoi on July 25.

The summit aimed to provide Vietnamese business leaders with a holistic view of emerging technology trends as well as management practices and governance practices to take full advantage of the opportunities created by AI.

It attracted more than 400 delegates from leading firms in Vietnam as well as economic, financial, and AI experts. 

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Le Quang Manh told the summit that Vietnam has a good foundation for accessing high technology, new knowledge, and breakthrough opportunities. “This foundation is made up of a large, young population interested in new technology and an increasing number of those with an academic background compared to the older generation,” he said. “Heads of companies should be pioneers in changing the capacity for adaptability, to make full use of their potential and deal with organizational obstacles.”

In a presentation, Mr. Jason Furman from Harvard University, who is in charge of the US’s national AI strategy building, said that Vietnam should build and develop an AI-based government, which he believes will push it further than e-government. “The government should support and create the conditions for the private sector and avoid the creation of any obstacles in license granting,” he noted. “It should also focus on investing in and researching basic sciences, to lay the foundation for the development of all AI technologies.”

Dr. Kazuo Yano, Chief Engineer at the Hitachi Group, an AI pioneer in Japan, presented the situation of AI application, ideas for economic and social development in Japan, and prospects for Vietnam. He noted that AI will bring people into the new era, from an era guided by rules towards an era driven by results.

VN Economic Times