2023 - The year AI becomes commonplace in every home.

2023 marked the end of AI's confinement to small communities, with widespread applications serving millions of Vietnamese people, from writing essays to creating avatar images.

OpenAI announced ChatGPT – a lifelike AI based on a large language model (LLM), trained to conduct conversations like a real person – in late 2022, and it began to explode in popularity early this year. Soon after, many major tech companies also launched similar chatbots, such as Google with Bard, Microsoft with Bing Chat, xAI with Grok, and Baidu with Ernie Bot.

The emergence of generative AI has helped erase the image of dull, inflexible artificial intelligence assistants that existed for decades. From a complex technology, AI has become an intuitive, accessible tool, opening up a range of application trends in daily life. In its 2023 report on prominent search trends in Vietnam, Google assessed that AI has become a hot topic. "The competition among many leading technology companies to bring AI applications to end users has attracted significant attention and led to the popularity of AI-related keywords on Google Search in 2023," the report stated. Vietnamese people are particularly interested in "the benefits of AI," "what does the AI ​​field entail," and how AI can be applied to specific areas.

AI is creating opportunities in work and leisure.

Even back in January, before OpenAI supported registration in Vietnam, many people were already trying to create or purchase accounts to experience ChatGPT. Leveraging AI's ability to receive, process, and interpret text, users could write essays, poems, summarize reports, and even create literary works and news articles.

ChatGPT interface on a mobile phone. Photo: Luu Quy

In schools, chatbots are used by both teachers and students as a support tool in subjects requiring summarizing large amounts of information. Meanwhile, with just a few suggested keywords for the AI, organizational and business leaders can prepare speeches for employees with appropriate writing styles.

Some Vietnamese writers have reported using ChatGPT to compile table of contents and brainstorm topics. Although AI cannot yet create emotionally rich language like humans, it is still considered a valuable assistant that significantly saves working time.

Furthermore, many people use chatbots to look up information instead of searching through Google or Bing Search. Some translators argue that AI's translation capabilities are more effective than dedicated translation applications. This is because, instead of translating word by word or phrase by phrase, AI tools can understand the context of the text, thereby providing the most fluent and understandable expression. In September, a translation application developed by two Vietnamese students studying abroad received tens of billions of VND in investment in the US, thanks to its combination of AI to convert Vietnamese text into English and 100 other languages.

The trend of using AI to create images.

At the beginning of 2023, a series of photos of a cat mascot went viral on social media, with many people mistaking them for a cat mascot statue celebrating the New Year in Ninh Thuan province. In reality, the images were created using the Mijourney tool.

An AI-generated image was mistakenly identified as a statue of the Ninh Thuan cat mascot. Photo: Bo Nguyen/Midjourney

The trend of using AI-powered drawing software emerged in 2022, but was limited to a few tech-savvy groups. However, with the explosion of ChatGPT, a range of image creation tools were upgraded and attracted a large number of users in 2023. With just the right text commands, anyone can play the role of an artist and create in various styles, such as interior design, fashion , or even comic drawing, without needing any artistic talent.

The trend of AI image creation has also given rise to a new profession in Vietnam: the prompt engineer. Prompt engineers don't necessarily need coding or programming skills, but they do need foreign language proficiency and good communication skills to effectively interact with artificial intelligence applications. Combining their existing specialized knowledge, prompt engineers "teach" AI to refine products, meeting the needs of specific sectors in society. Additionally, some organizations are utilizing AI image creation to recreate ancient architecture, restore paintings, and restore historically significant Vietnamese artworks that have deteriorated over time.

However, experts believe that AI tools for generating images and videos could pose a risk of deepfake scams.

The trend of using AI to create personalized avatars.

AI-powered avatar design applications have been around for a while, but they exploded in popularity and attracted a large number of users thanks to the integration of AI generation, especially in the second half of 2023.

The avatar was recreated by AI in anime style. Photo: Ngoc Anh

In mid-July, Remini, an app that transforms selfies into professional avatars, surpassed the social network Threads to climb to the number one spot on the App Store. In Vietnam, the software also entered the top 6 most installed photo editing tools. Simply upload 7 photos, and Remini will help create a portrait with options for style, clothing, age, and skin tone.

In August, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram were flooded with anime-style photos created by Loopsie. By the end of the month, Loopsie had become the most downloaded app on the App Store in Vietnam. Unlike its competitors, Loopsie doesn't just focus on faces but also transforms the surrounding scenery, making the images more visually appealing and colorful. By October, Zalo integrated its AI Avatar feature, allowing users to design profile pictures in six different styles.

However, security experts also advise users to be cautious when providing personal photos to AI. In the context of rampant deepfake attacks, malicious actors can create fake images, fake news, and fake video calls impersonating others. "Once data is exploited, the victims are not only the individual themselves, but potentially their family, friends, and everyone around them," experts from the Anti-Phishing Project warn.

Hoang Giang - Vnexpress.net

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