Myriad of benefits of Vietnam’s AI integration laid bare, Source: freepik.com

The message was discussed by experts at an event on board members in the AI era held on August 13 in Ho Chi Minh City.

At the seminar, Ha Thu Thanh, chairwoman of the Vietnam Institute of Directors, underscored the pivotal role that boards of directors (BoD) play in steering companies towards sustainable development in the modern era.

“AI can significantly enhance the board’s oversight and management capabilities, ensuring that all company activities remain within safe and efficient boundaries. With AI’s support, BoD can elevate their oversight and management, keeping all company operations within secure and effective limits,” Thanh stated.

Prof. Michael Hilb, founder of DBP Group, noted that technology has become a pervasive tool for both businesses and individuals. However, he cautioned against the potential pitfalls of AI, from excessive hype to unrealistic optimism.

“AI has the potential to support smart decision-making, but human intelligence and experience remain at the core of strategic decisions,” Hilb said. “AI is not a panacea that can replace human input entirely. Rather, it is a powerful tool that must be used judiciously and responsibly.”

The challenge lies in integrating human intelligence with machine intelligence to create a cohesive and effective system, Hilb continued. “We must adapt and carefully select our approach, as this is a long-term journey. Mistakes are possible, but critical thinking is essential to finding the right path and using AI cautiously,” he said.

From a practical perspective, Phung Viet Thang, country director of Intel Vietnam, emphasised that the collaboration between humans and AI should be viewed as a way to combine strengths, enhancing governance and decision-making accuracy.

“AI enables us to process data more strategically and manage larger volumes, while freeing humans from repetitive tasks,” Thang explained. “While humans can be influenced by emotions, AI’s high compliance rate means fewer errors. Effectively leveraging AI can help businesses survive and excel in a volatile environment. It supports governance and plays a crucial role in risk management and regulatory compliance, ensuring smooth and accurate business processes.”

However, experts collectively agreed on a critical caution: overreliance on AI, without a clear understanding of its limitations, could lead to significant management errors.

A survey in May by Microsoft revealed that 88 per cent of knowledge workers in Vietnam are using generative AI, surpassing the global average of 75 per cent. Globally, three out of four respondents are using AI in their work, but in Vietnam, this figure rises to 88 per cent.

Most Vietnamese users indicated that AI helps them start and end their workdays more efficiently.

“Many employees struggling to keep up with the pace and volume of work say AI helps them save time, boost creativity, and focus on core tasks,” the report noted.

Microsoft also observed that Vietnamese workers are proactively equipping themselves with AI tools, rather than waiting for their organisations to implement them. Data shows that approximately 70 per cent of users across all generations are using personal AI tools for work.

On the management side, 89 per cent of business leaders in Vietnam believe that their companies need to adopt AI to stay competitive, yet nearly half express concerns about the lack of concrete plans and strategic vision for AI implementation, cited the report.

Microsoft warned that while the proactive use of AI by employees is promising, the absence of a unified strategy could lead to missed opportunities for broader AI adoption and increase the risk of data security breaches.

Commenting on the higher-than-average AI usage among Vietnamese workers, Nguyen Quynh Tram, general director of Microsoft Vietnam, noted that AI is increasingly being used for more complex tasks, not just for basic functions like translating documents, summarising content, or drafting emails.

“However, the encouragement to use AI from leadership is lower in Vietnam than in other parts of the world. Vietnam needs to further incentivise organisations, businesses, and leaders to not only experiment with AI but to leverage it as a key tool for achieving business goals and optimising organisational efficiency,” Tram said.