Last week, Kambria, along with VietAI, McKinsey and other partners in Vietnam, successfully organized the AI IS NOW! event series in three major cities. In total, over 1100 people attended demonstrating that AI technology is captivating the interest of many young developers in Vietnam. Below is a recap of what participants learned.
Ho Chi Minh City (May 18) - Launching the AI For Vietnam Movement
Dr. Thuc Vu, CEO of Kambria, opened the event by introducing the potential of AI technology for the development of the economy. In doing so he highlighted Vietnam's opportunities to participate in the AI industry in order to catch up with global trends in technology.
The term “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) was first used by American computer scientist John McCarthy in 1956 at the Dartmouth Conference. Although it has been researched by scientists for a long time, the new AI has become a phenomenon recently with the development of new branches of AI called Machine Learning and Deep Learning, which have been studied and applied effectively. Machine Learning is capable of self-learning based on input data. And Deep Learning, the deeper branch of Machine Learning, focuses on solving problems related to artificial neural networks to upgrade technologies such as natural language processing, and computer vision.
According to the McKinsey Global Institute, the research arm of McKinsey & Company, AI technology is promised to increase global GDP about $13 trillion by 2030, contributing an average of 1.2% to global economic growth each year between 2018-2030. Therefore, AI will be a key area of interest and investment for many national governments.
Mr. Gaurav Sharma (pictured above), Senior Digital Analyst of McKinsey & Company in India, predicts that the AI technology market could reach $300 billion by 2025.
Da Nang (May 20) - The Role of Education Before the AI Technology Wave
AI IS NOW! continued its journey in Danang. This time, Kambria was accompanied by speakers from JobHop, Cinnamon, and VietAI to introduce AI technology to young students at Duy Tan University. Speakers in attendance included: Mr. Tu Nguyen - Operations Director of VietAI, Mr. Anh Nguyen - Researcher at Cinnamon, and Mr. Tung Kevin Nguyen - Founder and CEO of JobHop, and Mr. Viet Ho - CEO and Founder DAILY OPT.
The event answered a lot of AI-related questions for students, as well as helping students understand how AI is applied to solving real-world technology problems. AI technology is at the heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where automation technologies are capable of changing many people's simple tasks. This is the reason that national governments are paying great attention to and investing in AI.
The potential of AI is clear, but Vietnam still faces many obstacles while applying AI technology. How can we find enough qualified developers to build AI? How can we meet the HR needs of the fast-growing AI technology enterprises in Vietnam?
Solving these issues is not easy, because, in order to increase human resources, we need training materials that are distilled from the experiences of enthusiastic experts along with the attention of the government. If Vietnam wants to reap the benefits of the long-term application of AI technology, it will need to build AI training centers and early AI education now in order to prepare.
Ha Noi (May 22) - Kickstarting the Vietnam AI Ecosystem with the Government’s Support
The last stop on the AI IS NOW! tour was Hanoi. This event was attended by many leading Vietnamese experts in AI and entrepreneurship such as Dr. Bui Hai Hung - Director of VinAI Research Institute, Dr. Cao Anh Tuan - Co-founder and Genetic Director, Dr. Hung Tran - Got It Founder, Mr. Ba Ngoc - Community Manager at GDG Hanoi, Anh Hoa Le - Lead Data Scientist at NextSmarty and Dr. Bui The Duy - Deputy Minister of Science and Technology.
At the event, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Bui The Duy, confirmed the Government's interest in AI technology. “The Government of Vietnam is concentrating resources on developing AI research and development programs. More than ever, AI workers are receiving great support from leaders of the Party, State, Ministry, Industry and large corporations. ”
At the event, speakers once again confirmed the importance of AI technology. The speakers said the world's leading technology companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon, IBM are heavily invested in research and know that bringing AI products and services to market is vital. If Vietnam wants to catch up with this world technology trend, investing in AI technology should definitely be today’s top priority.
But to overcome the obstacles of a developing country, experts suggest that Vietnam should invest heavily in three main areas: human resource training, the development of open source data and partnerships between Vietnamese universities, intellectuals, and the global community. Open data sources will save a lot of time and cost for AI engineers in developing new AI projects. Meanwhile, linking universities with international knowledge communities to businesses will create strong partnerships, help transfer technology and quickly bring products to market.
Going forward, Kambria will conduct workshops to train anyone interested in participating in the Vietnam AI Grand Challenge. The first upcoming workshop will be held on June 1st in Da Nang. For event information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/319356775658009/
The Vietnam AI Grand Challenge aims to create virtual assistants using AI technology in many industries. Teams will need to register for membership through Kambria's platform. During the competition, teams will be asked to put their products on Kambria's platform, so that the judges can assess and select the best products to build open data sources for engineers.
