Minister Nguyen Manh Hung: The problems created by AI could be bigger than atomic bombs

According to Minister Nguyen Manh Hung, the power of AI may be greater than nuclear energy, so the problems of AI may be even greater than atomic bombs. AI and its problems will always exist, cannot be eliminated, so we must live together and manage wisely.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung - Minister of Science and Technology speaking at the workshop - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

The comments were made by the Minister of Science and Technology at the scientific conference Unlimited power and unpredictable challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) - negative impacts and policy responses, which took place on the morning of September 15.

AI poses unprecedented challenges

At the workshop, speakers pointed out the two-sided nature of AI, comprehensive assessments of its impact on the economy , education, health, culture, sustainable development, national defense and security governance, etc.

According to General Luong Tam Quang, Minister of Public Security, in the fourth industrial revolution, artificial intelligence (AI) is considered one of the key technologies, a factor that can lead to changes in the global order in the future.

With the ability to promote economic growth, optimize production, improve healthcare, innovate education, and enhance social governance capacity, AI helps countries save costs, increase efficiency, expand knowledge, and is a resource, a force, and a driving force to affirm national position in the digital age.

Besides its potential, AI also poses unprecedented challenges in terms of legal gaps, ethical risks, technology abuse for cybercrime, information warfare, data privacy violations, and especially the risk of impact on national defense and security.

General Luong Tam Quang, Minister of Public Security, speaks at the conference - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

Professor Nguyen Xuan Thang, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, said that besides its great potential, AI has many serious and unpredictable risks.

Of particular concern is the potential loss of control over self-learning and self-adapting AI systems, especially as they evolve beyond human understanding and oversight.

According to Mr. Thang, AI has been causing negative impacts on the labor market, as many traditional occupations are being replaced, leading to an increased risk of unemployment, especially for unskilled workers or those without digital skills.

In particular, if training data is biased, AI will reproduce and amplify social biases, leading to biased, unfair decisions.

In addition, AI can also be exploited for dangerous activities such as online fraud, spreading fake news, fake voices and images (deepfake), causing public confusion and affecting security and social order; being exploited to conduct sophisticated cyber attacks to infiltrate and destroy information systems, important infrastructure or steal data and national secrets.

"The race to develop AI among countries risks creating strategic imbalances and promoting military tensions, especially in the absence of international legal frameworks to control the use of AI in defense and security.

Therefore, AI is both a tool to enhance defense and security capabilities and a potential source of risks to world peace and security if not used responsibly and transparently," Mr. Thang said.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang - Director of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics - speaking at the conference - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

AI problems that can be solved by AI itself

At the conference, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Science and Technology, said that Vietnam issued its first AI strategy in 2021. But AI is a rapidly changing field, and there will be an update to the national AI strategy and the AI ​​Law by the end of this year.

According to Minister Nguyen Manh Hung, this is not only a legal framework, but also a declaration of national vision, AI must become the country's intellectual infrastructure, serving the people, developing sustainably and enhancing national competitiveness.

AI opens up great opportunities, but also raises many issues regarding ethics, employment and social trust. Therefore, Vietnam must develop AI that is fast, safe and humane.

AI is for humans, not replacing humans but serving humans, AI is an assistant to humans. AI is a powerful tool, but humans are the decision makers, let AI support, not replace human thinking, values ​​and responsibilities.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung commented: "AI's power may be greater than nuclear energy, and therefore, its problems may be greater than atomic bombs. But AI and its problems are twins, like yin and yang, like two sides of a coin, relying on each other to coexist and develop, and they transform each other.

AI problems can be solved by AI itself, for example, training AI human resources with AI technology itself, detecting AI ethics violations also with AI itself.

AI grows with the problems it creates. Without AI problems, there will be no AI growth. AI and AI problems are a big "and". AI and its problems will always exist, we cannot eliminate them, but must live with them and manage them wisely.

National AI ethics code to be issued

According to Minister Nguyen Manh Hung, a national AI ethics code will be issued in the near future, in harmony with international standards, but designed to suit Vietnamese practice, and the AI ​​Law and AI strategy will be built according to the following core viewpoints:

First, manage by risk level.

Second, transparency and accountability.

Third, put people at the center.

Fourth, encourage domestic AI development and AI autonomy.

Fifth, take AI as a driving force for rapid and sustainable growth.

Sixth, protecting digital sovereignty. Data, infrastructure, and AI technology are the three strategic pillars of digital sovereignty.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bo-truong-nguyen-manh-hung-van-de-cua-ai-tao-ra-co-the-lon-hon-bom-nguyen-tu-20250915103427851.htm