AI - An ally or an adversary?

Involved in every link of the publishing process—writing, translation, editing, printing, distribution, copyright assessment, creating artificial voiceovers for audiobooks, analyzing reader preferences, etc.—will AI (artificial intelligence) be an ally or a rival to those in the publishing industry?

A valuable assistant

Speaking to Thanh Nien newspaper , Nguyen Nguyen, Director of the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution, commented: "The impact of AI on the Vietnamese publishing industry today is intense, because AI interferes too deeply in the creative process, most noticeably changing the relationship between creators and the public. Therefore, many people are concerned that AI will overshadow creativity, and along with that comes the issue of creative copyright, while publishing thrives, develops, and operates based on copyright protection."

Works by writer Thien Son

Photo: Provided by the interviewee

Writer Thien Son

However, Vietnamese publishing industry leaders also believe that, fundamentally, AI support should first and foremost be considered a powerful assistant. By changing the rules and methods of the game, from creation to management, AI is clearly helping to standardize and optimize the publishing process; increase productivity, save time and manpower in the raw data processing stages; reduce production costs; help publishers innovate their operating methods, eliminate mediocre products, and provide personalized experiences for users… In short, it is redefining the entire value chain of the publishing industry.

Calmly embracing this "tsunami," translator Luc Huong (real name Nguyen Xuan Minh) assesses the positive aspects of AI: "It must be acknowledged that large-scale language models (LLMs) like Chat GPT and Gemini have a larger vocabulary than any human translator. Many idioms and expressions that previously required extensive research or could only be understood by native speakers can now be explained and illustrated with examples by AI with just a click of the mouse. AI can also simplify extremely complex sentences, providing dozens of different translation options in seconds so that we can grasp the meaning. If translators effectively utilize these capabilities, the translation process will be greatly assisted."

From the perspective of a writer specializing in historical novels, author Thien Son acknowledges that compared to the arduous process of searching for historical materials in the past, this process is now significantly aided by AI (of course, careful verification is still needed, especially for non-fiction books).

Researcher Nguyen Truong Quy, author of numerous comprehensive research books on Hanoi , also noted: "If AI were used as a teaching assistant or helper to practice a task that enhances knowledge synthesis or provides solutions based on that knowledge data, it would be useful! If the information is accurately searched for and has a clear source, then of course researchers or writers wouldn't have to spend time going to the library to flip through each book or search thousands of pages to find what they need. For the field of creative writing, the feasibility is that AI can create situations, possibilities, and scenarios in many different ways…".

Malignant loops

However, if AI is misused, used indiscriminately, and without verification, it becomes a double-edged sword that can inflict serious damage on the publishing industry, especially regarding copyright issues, a persistent problem in Vietnam, particularly in the era of ebooks and audiobooks. The rapid development of AI also poses many ethical challenges for creators in particular and publishers in general, raising concerns about the potential for mass production or derivative products, turning copyright issues into a joke, eroding writers and readers' trust, and ultimately undermining creative identity, threatening reading culture, and disrupting the labor ecosystem in the publishing industry…

A work by writer and researcher Nguyen Truong Quy

Writer and researcher Nguyen Truong Quy

As long as AI remains entirely dependent on "ready-made food" in the form of big data, it will still not be 100% reliable for creators and researchers. "I am very wary of AI at the moment because this type of software is not yet capable of filtering accurate information and often provides additional false information, such as baseless 'expressive comments'," said researcher Nguyen Truong Quy. "Its drawback is that it stifles our motivation to acquire knowledge on that arduous path. Now, once we find the result, there's a very high chance our brains will be satisfied and quickly forget the paths that led to finding that information…," he added.

Writer Thien Son maintains his belief in the unique values ​​of creativity: "Currently, AI itself cannot threaten authentic literature. It can assist in researching materials and providing advice on situations. But those are only at a universal level; the value of a work lies not in its universality but in its uniqueness."

Translator: Luc Huong

Translator Luc Huong stated: "After three years, although AI models have advanced at a rapid pace, I personally still believe that translating literary works should remain a human endeavor. The emotional connection between author, translator, and reader is something that an AI translation may not be able to achieve at this point. Furthermore, AI still has many shortcomings regarding accuracy, uncontrolled additions, and consistency…"

"AI is a very powerful tool, a tireless research assistant, a tool for searching and synthesizing information. If used correctly, we can significantly shorten the time and save a lot of manpower. However, without a solid foundation of knowledge and critical thinking skills, it's easy to get caught up in it, leading to a vicious cycle of 'AI searching for AI, AI evaluating AI' repeating itself endlessly and gradually pushing the publishing industry off track…," translator Luc Huong expressed her concern.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ai-tro-thu-hay-doi-thu-185251010230536528.htm