Vietnam's AI leadership status improving

Some studies show Vietnam’s artificial intelligence (AI) leadership status is blossoming, according to forbes.com website.

Vietnam currently has over 64,000 digital technology enterprises, an increase of 5,600 enterprises compared to 2020, and there are nearly 1,000 Vietnamese branded Information Communication and Technology (ICT) products and services, it said.

It is estimated that Vietnam has over 1 million IT workers, and over 80,000 university and college graduates with majors in ICT.

The International Development Research Centre in Canada and the UK’s Oxford ranked Vietnam 6th in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and 62nd in the world for the 2021 Government Artificial Intelligence Readiness Score.

OpenGov Asia reported that Vietnam ranked 6th out of 10 ASEAN member countries and 55th globally in the 2022 Government AI Readiness Index, up seven places compared to 2021. The country’s average score reached 53.96, up from 51.82 in 2021, surpassing the global average of 44.61.

The readiness of a country or territory toward AI technology is evaluated through three pillars – the government, technology, and data infrastructure.

According to the website, the Vietnamese government has been investing heavily in AI and other digital technologies, such as machine learning, blockchain, big data analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing.

Recently the Southeast Asian country approved the National Digital Transformation Programme by 2025 with an orientation toward 2030, laying foundation for the country to become a powerful AI innovation in the years to come. Vietnam has also introduced major policies to support research and development (R&D), AI, and application development so the country can make some big strides.

However, studies also pointed out that Vietnam is in short of human resources with the required expertise needed in the field of AI.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), there are currently less than 2,000 Vietnamese studying and working in AI-related fields, and less than 300 people are considered AI experts. Currently, there are about 50 universities and institutes teaching AI-related majors in Vietnam.

However, Vietnam has ambitious plans on being among the top four countries in Asia in terms of AI. FPT Software company is making efforts to promote this ambition, according to forbes.com.