Issues raised in economic development from artificial intelligence applications in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City is a special urban area, a major center of economy, culture, education – training, science – technology, a hub for international exchange and integration; a locomotive, a driving force with great attraction and spread of the Southern Key Economic Zone and the whole country. The City’s budget revenue always accounts for the largest proportion in the country, contributing 22.2% of the country’s economy. The City is also the largest industrial and service center in the country, accounting for 15% of industry and 33% of services nationwide. Implementing Resolution No. 31-NQ/TW, dated December 30, 2022 of the Politburo on the direction and tasks of developing Ho Chi Minh City to 2030, with a vision to 2045, the City has deployed the Program “Research and development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in Ho Chi Minh City in the period of 2020-2030”. Accordingly, the Program aims to make AI a spearhead economic sector and one of the core technologies in building creative urban areas, smart cities, and promoting rapid and sustainable digital economic development. However, due to the lack of precedent, the application of AI in economic development is not really clear. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify what the application of AI in economic development includes? What will be encountered when applying AI? Thoroughly answering these questions is urgent and has high practical value, helping Ho Chi Minh City gain a great advantage, taking advantage of potential to make a breakthrough development. THE CONTENTS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FROM AI APPLICATION
AI is no longer a technology of the future, but has increasingly penetrated into all areas of life, economic sectors and is forecast to become the driving force for economic development of countries. Many international organizations consider AI to be the most important foundational technology leading digital transformation activities in industries, sectors, organizations and businesses. According to the forecast of the world’s leading auditing company PriceWaterhouse Coopers, by 2030, AI will contribute an additional 15.7 trillion USD to the global economy (Do Phong, 2023). At the same time, AI will create new industries and new jobs. The development of AI technology has been widely recognized as a manifestation of a country’s comprehensive strength through its ability to innovate and create.
AI-based economy is a new term that has been used and popularized in Vietnam since 2018 after the Vietnam CEO Summit 2018. Currently, there are many different perspectives and approaches to economic development from AI applications. According to Austan Goolsbee (2018), economic development from AI applications is an intensive economy, improving productivity based on AI in which managers apply AI technology to support and improve their ability to predict, make decisions and make valuable development policy assessments (Goolsbee, 2018).
However, Roger Bootle (2019) believes that economic development from AI technology applications is an economy in which Robots and AI promise to have a great impact on labor productivity. Because, in some areas AI technology can completely replace humans or in other areas of production they can increase output per hour or improve the quality and reliability of what they produce. Most importantly, it can provide a lot of AI human resources in the service sector, thereby promising to overcome the slow situation so far and increase productivity in the service sector. However, AI cannot replace humans in all areas because there are many areas where humans have absolute advantages over Robots and AI, such as: manual dexterity, emotional intelligence, creativity, flexibility and most importantly, humanity. These are the qualities that will ensure that, in the AI-based economy, there will still be a lot of jobs for humans (Bootle, 2019).
Thus, it can be understood that economic development from AI application is the investment and application of AI technology by social entities in production, business activities and certain potential fields to increase labor productivity, thereby promoting economic growth with high quality, fast and sustainable. An AI-applied economy allows the state, businesses and people to process work faster, make more scientifically based, intelligent and reliable decisions, and at the same time improve labor productivity and product quality.
STATUS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FROM AI APPLICATION IN HO CHI MINH CITY
Building, consolidating and developing the AI ecosystem
Since 2017, Ho Chi Minh City has considered the AI field an indispensable important element in the Smart City Construction Project. The city considers this a valuable opportunity to look back and shape the upcoming direction. Therefore, on November 7, 2020, the City People’s Committee decided to establish an Advisory Council for the Program “Research and Development of AI Applications in Ho Chi Minh City in the period of 2020-2030”. The city has also directed the inclusion of AI content in pilot teaching and application in the fields of transportation, education, and health to improve service quality. In the period of 2012-2022, according to statistics from the Department of Science and Technology (KH&CN), the City has 236 S&T organizations and 135 research groups.
