Director of VinAI Research: Vietnam is on par with AI with Hong Kong, Finland

Sharing at the Vietnam Reform and Development Forum 2020 on the morning of September 29, PhD. Bui Hai Hung – Director of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence (VinAI Research) – said one of the institute’s missions is to bring Vietnam on the global AI (artificial intelligence) map.

1.5 years ago, before TS. Hung left Google DeepMind to return to Vietnam at the invitation of Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong to found VinAI Research, Vietnam is still number 0 on the AI ​​map of the world. Mr. Hung recounted: ” During the meeting with Mr. Vuong, I said: ‘If you want to do something at the Vietnamese level, I will not return, if you want to do at the world level, I will go back.’ “.

Vietnam’s position on AI is different nowadays.

Mr. Hung said, at the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) 2020 – an event that the President of VinAI Research likened to the “World Cup playground” of the AI ​​world, through VinAI Research, Vietnam is standing at number one. 21 on the world AI map, comparable to relatively developed economies such as Hong Kong, Brazil, Finland …

VinAI Research is also in the top 30 enterprises with AI research.

” Of course the Top 4 is still the US, China, Canada, the UK. But it is important that we begin our research in depth and methodology to confirm our AI capabilities in the field. international “ , TS. Hung shared.

VinAI Research has been formed for 1.5 years and develops at a very fast speed – the speed commonly seen in Vingroup. Currently, this research unit has more than 100 employees, of which nearly 20 have had experience working in the US, Europe, Australia …

“We currently have offices in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and have ambitions to become research institutes with leading AI research capabilities in the world ,” said PhD. Hung expressed.

On the importance of AI, TS. Hung believes that this technology has the potential to solve global challenges and bring sustainable development to Vietnam.

In addition to solving the “problems” of Vietnam such as the application of Vietnamese writing and voice, application in urban transport, health, education, production …, solving problems on national security such as information security, AI can create a competitive advantage for Vietnam in the international arena when mastering new technology.

Located in the ecosystem of the largest private corporation in Vietnam, Vingroup, VinAI Research on the one hand helps increase the value of products of Vinfast family, Vsmart …, and at the same time meet the needs of customers. domestically and internationally.

One of the typical products of VinAI Research is the VFace Pass technology, which currently applies to the feature of unlocking with facial recognition (Face Unlock) for more than 1 million Vsmart phones. This technology can also be applied in buildings, offices or businesses to control access, identify customers. Mr. Hung said this technology is one of the first in the world to recognize the face of a person wearing a mask.

Another application mentioned by Mr. Hung is the hidden camera (Camera Under Display – CUD) that creates a “infinite” screen for VinSmart’s Aris phone line, expected to be released in October, or noise filtering technology. Use when calling / listening in public places …