A delegation of experts from Franch paid a working visit to Việt Nam from October 5 to 10. Éric Soulier, Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Action at the French Embassy in Việt Nam, speaks to Việt Nam News reporter Bảo Hoa about the focus of the visit and how support from France for Việt Nam's digital transformation will continue in the future.

Éric Soulier, Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Action at the French Embassy in Việt Nam. — Photo courtesy of the embassy

What was the major focus of this visit, and how was it a continuation of the previous one in June?

It's the third one this year. We have been working with the Vietnamese Government on digital transformation for eight years, and this year it's the third stage. We are very happy about it because we are bringing a group of experts; some of them have already come to Việt Nam, so for them it's a continuation of the work they have been doing, but we are also bringing new experts in order to tackle what is at stake now.

The main question is how do you, as a public servant, use AI? How, as a public institution, do you make sure that AI is a support, a help to your work, not a threat?

It's a major focus, and it's also a major concern. AI can be a support and very helpful; it can quicken and fasten a lot of our different tasks. But at the same time, we have to be cautious, to understand AI and its limits, not only rely on it. So it's important to make sure that we are not giving away everything to AI, and that we are safeguarding the way we are working with it. That's the tricky part.

What are the practical experiences from France in dealing with the risks associated with AI use that can help Việt Nam prevent them in public administration?

We are very cautious of data, our own data that is owned by the country, because we can see the attacks that are done through AI. AI is very quick, it can solve problems very quickly and can open ‘doors’ even with strong passwords. So you have to be very careful in protecting all the data. That's the first thing.

The second is to make sure that you don't take for granted the response made by AI. You make sure that it's the right response to the right question. So the difficulty sometimes is to ask the right question.

Éric Soulier speaks at a seminar where French experts shared experiences in digitising public administration services with about 800 Vietnamese public servants and State employees, held at the Hồ Chí Minh National Academy of Politics in Hà Nội on October 10. — VNS Photo Bảo Hoa

What are the expected results of this visit, and how would the support from France continue in the future?

It's part of the cooperation work between two countries, and this one is at the heart of Việt Nam and France, of course, because we are transforming the way our societies are organised. We are doing it in France at the same time, where it's always evolving. It's also evolving differently, even sometimes at a faster pace here in Việt Nam, so it's an exchange of expertise and knowledge. It's interesting for us because the experts we are bringing here are experts in France, who are advising the French Government. So some of the things that they experience here, they are also putting into their advisory work.

It's fascinating because when we think of France, we think of a very advanced country that we have a lot to learn from. Now it's good that the same things that are happening in France are being transferred to Việt Nam.

Việt Nam is evolving very, very quickly. It's the same story as when countries moved from landline telephones to mobile phones. Many countries in the developing world had a lot of difficulties with landline telephones, but they move on very quickly with mobile phones, even quicker than the countries that had already a landline network very well established.

It’s what's happening now with AI. It's moving very fast here in Việt Nam. It's moving fast in France, differently. So it's interesting to see what you're putting in place very quickly, and things we are more cautious about in France because we already have some other things in place at the moment. So it’s good to see what is being experienced here in Việt Nam, with the e-Việt Nam identity, for example, and all the things that are being put in place in the digital area in general. — VNS