Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy said AI4VN aims to promote AI development in Viet Nam by connecting members of the ecosystem like research institutes, technology companies, and start-ups.

“Viet Nam has been considered as one of countries which have updates for the latest technologies of the Industry 4.0 including AI,” Duy said.

“However, the country has not had sufficient resources to focus on developing a totally new technology like AI. It therefore requires supports from businesses, individuals and research units to establish an AI community in Viet Nam. This could help Vietnamese people to have AI-based products.”

He said AI has been considered as one of key technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Many countries have seen big affects of AI in all aspects of life. Viet Nam would not be outside the trend.

Ta Hai Tung, director of the Institute for Information, Technology and Telecommunications of Ha Noi University and Technology said AI helps to connect with people’s diversified demands. In the trend of digital transformation, AI in combination with Big Data would create added values and conveniences for the future.

Le Hong Viet, Technology Director of FPT said the company has around five million users operating in different sectors each month.

‘The demand of applications using AI has seen strong growth,” Viet said.

Currently, AI application has been widely used in education and transport sectors in the country.

The event was expected to attract around 2,000 participants.

Also planned are a series of workshops on AI in tourism, health, education, and finance, among others, to take place with the participation of Vietnamese and foreign experts, businessmen and researchers.

Visitors will be treated to exhibitions and the showcasing of self-driving cars and robots.

Leading speakers in the world such as Dr Ulli Waltinger from Siemens, Stefano Ermon from Stanford University will be speaking. CEOs of leading Vietnamese technology firms such as FPT, VinAI and CMC will be discussing AI development in Viet Nam.

One of the main guests is Peter Vesterbacka, co-founder of the popular Angry Bird Game.

According to Gartner Group, the world’s AI industry in 2018 saw strong growth of more than 70 per cent in comparison with the previous year, reaching the value of US$1.2 trillion. AI would become one of the breakthrough technologies in the next 10 years thank to advances in calculation capacity, speed and diversified data.

In Viet Nam, AI is listed among advanced technologies for prioritised investment in development. The Government considers it a spearheaded factor of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. — VNS