On November 15, in Hanoi, the National Innovation Center (NIC), the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in collaboration with Google, organized the Workshop “Creating the AI ​​Future for Vietnam” to exploit the potential of AI and discuss policies and mechanisms for AI development in Vietnam. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Do Thanh Trung attended and delivered the opening speech at the Workshop.

Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Do Thanh Trung said that, in its role as a general advisory body on socio-economic development strategies, the Ministry has advised and submitted to the Prime Minister for approval the Program “Developing human resources for the semiconductor industry to 2030, with a vision to 2050” in Decision No. 1017/QD-TTg, which proposes the goal that by 2030, Vietnam will have at least 5,000 engineers or higher with in-depth expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) to serve the semiconductor industry. At the same time, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has assigned the National Innovation Center to coordinate with domestic and international partners and experts to research and build an AI Training, Research and Application Center to serve AI business incubation, support AI research, application and in-depth training on AI with the goal of training 7,000 AI experts according to international standards by 2030 and incubating about 500 AI startups.

These are very proactive steps of the Ministry to realize the goal of Vietnam soon becoming a center for innovation, developing solutions and applying artificial intelligence in the ASEAN region and the world.

“With the desire to promote the strong development of the Vietnamese AI community, making Vietnam one of the leading AI research and application centers in the region, the Ministry of Planning and Investment will always support and accompany and continue to advise on mechanisms and policies to develop AI technology,” Deputy Minister Do Thanh Trung affirmed.

At the Workshop, Google representative introduced the content of the Economic Impact Report: Promoting digital growth in Vietnam with Google.

According to Google research, the potential from AI in Vietnam is huge, with estimated economic benefits of up to VND1,890 trillion (US$79.3 billion) for businesses by 2030, if AI tools are widely applied. This figure is equivalent to nearly 12% of Vietnam’s GDP by 2030.

To fully exploit the potential of AI, according to Google’s AI Opportunity Agenda for Vietnam, Vietnam needs to strengthen its technical infrastructure for AI-based innovation, build an AI-ready workforce, and increase access to AI across the economy. Google’s report also provides an in-depth analysis of strategies to bridge the digital and AI knowledge gap, helping the Vietnamese workforce make effective use of AI and drive economic growth.

Accordingly, to fully exploit the transformational potential of AI, Vietnam needs to focus on retaining and developing domestic talent by expanding access to digital education and accelerating the implementation of corporate training programs. To maximize the economic benefits of AI, Vietnam needs to prioritize the development of a digital workforce. Closing the digital skills gap through specialized training and technology application will open up great economic potential for the country.

In addition, the report quantifies Google’s current contribution to supporting businesses, households, and the workforce in Vietnam through Google’s diverse AI-integrated products and services such as: Google Search, Google Ads, Google AdSense, Google Play and YouTube; Google Cloud, Google Workspace…

Mr. Andrew Ure, Senior Director of Government Relations and Public Policy of Google Southeast Asia of Google Corporation, speaking at the Workshop (Photo: HNV)

“With a young, tech-savvy population and a dynamic digital landscape, Vietnam is well-positioned to tap into the opportunities presented by AI,” said Andrew Ure, Senior Director of Government Relations and Public Policy at Google Southeast Asia. “We are therefore delighted to partner with NIC to introduce the first AI Policy & Skilling Lab to Vietnam. We look forward to working with the Vietnamese government, ministries and research institutions to build an AI-powered future that benefits everyone.”

Also at the Workshop, experts from state management agencies, research institutions, and business representatives discussed and proposed specific solutions and initiatives to promote proactive investment in AI research and development; build a high-quality AI workforce; develop an AI innovation ecosystem to create a favorable environment for creative AI ideas to be nurtured and developed. In addition, a topic of interest discussed at the Workshop was about synchronous solutions to build an AI legal framework to ensure that AI is developed and applied safely, responsibly, and in compliance with ethical values.

On this occasion, Google Corporation, other corporations, technology enterprises, universities, research institutes, experts and scientists have also paid attention to building visions, goals and action plans for major tasks related to AI including: actively and proactively investing in AI research and development; building a high-quality AI workforce; developing an AI innovation ecosystem to create a favorable environment for creative AI ideas to be nurtured and developed; jointly participating in building an AI legal framework to ensure that AI is developed and applied safely, responsibly and in compliance with ethical values…