Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoàng Minh Sơn speaks at the seminar. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

HÀ NỘI — A collaborative seminar between the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and the Việt Nam Institute of Educational Sciences was held yesterday to address the utilisation of artificial intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT in the education sector.

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that has gained over 100 million users worldwide since its release in November 2022. It is a natural language processing tool that creates human-like conversations on various topics, using the internet as a database to create answers. 

Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Hoàng Minh Sơn, addressed the attendees of the conference and acknowledged the profound impact of information technology in recent decades.

In particular, integrating technology in the education sector has contributed to elevating educational standards and improving pedagogical outcomes.

During the COVID-19 period, the deputy minister pointed out that people experienced a huge change from in-person to online learning, thanks to many effective support tools.

With the advent of more efficient technology, many people are worried that teachers’ roles will become lost.

However, Sơn pointed out that technology has helped the education industry make great strides, and the appearance of ChatGPT will be a great help for learners and teachers, he said.

Learners will spend less time searching for sources of knowledge, and teachers can use these tools as assistants to build lessons, guide learners and better access learners.

The teaching and learning process will become more effective, improving education’s efficiency and quality.

He said that AI, and ChatGPT in particular, will help make the learning process more intelligent.

"In the past, a teacher taught a few dozen students with separate instructions for each student. Thanks to this tool, learners can use it as a private tutor,” said Sơn.

“Of course, this tool may not be as close as a teacher, but it provides learners with comprehensive knowledge from different fields. Most importantly, learners can learn at any time, in any field," he said.

Regarding challenges posed by ChatGPT, Deputy Minister Sơn said that in history, many new technologies have appeared, and teachers must make good use of these tools.

When teachers have tools to help them, they can focus on more important tasks to improve teaching and learning quality.

However, Sơn also emphasised that change in student assessment is needed. As ChatGPT brings benefits in teaching and learning, assessments must change and adjust too.

In the future, education experts will develop many solutions for testing and assessing learners.

Assessments will focus on learners' abilities instead of knowledge tests.

The deputy minister said universities will have specific regulations to prevent students from abusing AI technologies such as ChatGPT.

The MoET will also create a legal system for this issue. — VNS