Innovation in cultural experiences

(PLVN) - The strong penetration of digital technology has opened up new ways of creating and disseminating cultural content in Vietnam. In particular, artificial intelligence is gradually becoming a powerful supporting tool, bringing groundbreaking capabilities to those working in cultural industries.

The impetus from technology and the passion of young people.

In the context of the technological revolution, preserving and promoting traditional cultural values ​​faces significant challenges but also opens up countless new opportunities. Leveraging the advantages of technology, many young people have pioneered meaningful projects aimed at preserving national cultural values ​​in a modern and more accessible way. A prime example is the "Returning to the Village" project founded by Ngo Quy Duc, which aims to spread traditional crafts to a wider community. Since 2020, the website velang.vn has continuously updated information about traditional craft villages in Hanoi , Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Hue, and other locations, becoming a familiar resource for those interested in learning about culture but unable to visit in person.

Also in 2020, a group of young people from Generation Z launched the "School of Traditional Opera and Drama" project, building an online museum of Vietnamese folk theater. Traditional forms such as water puppetry, Cheo, Tuong, and Cai Luong; or unique performance styles like Ba Trao singing, Oi Loi singing, and Xuan Pha performances… are all digitized and presented vividly on social media with eye-catching graphics and accessible content. Particularly in 2022, this project made its mark by organizing the exhibition "Northern Rhythm of the Tang Bong River," integrating modern technology into the performance of traditional culture – from the documentary "The Glorious Tragedy" to a 3D film combining traditional performances and electronic music .

Recently, the "Vietnamese Charm" project emerged, bringing a fresh perspective with videos telling cultural stories through a modern lens, appealing to the tastes of young people. These products are meticulously produced in terms of content and technical aspects, broken down into short clips suitable for platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Threads, thus attracting a large audience and generating significant interaction. Furthermore, other initiatives such as the art program series by the Hieu Van Ngu group on social media platforms, or the Y Van Hien project specializing in recreating traditional costumes using modern printing technology, all demonstrate a trend of "catching the wave" of young audiences' tastes in the digital content era.

Clearly, the younger generation is playing and will continue to play a crucial role in preserving and promoting national culture, with strong support from modern technology and the guidance of previous generations.

Opportunities and challenges in the field of artistic creation.

AI technology is also gradually reshaping how people approach and create in the fields of culture and art. While art was previously linked to human emotions, intuition, and deep feelings, AI is now emerging as a powerful tool – from preserving heritage and restoring traditional cultural values ​​to opening up new horizons of creativity. However, alongside this immense opportunity come countless challenges, especially regarding ethics, algorithmic bias, and inequality in access to technology.

One of AI's most notable contributions is its ability to preserve and digitize cultural heritage. Thanks to 3D scanning, image processing, and spatial modeling technologies, humans have been able to recreate historical sites with impressive accuracy. For example, the Google Arts & Culture project has digitized millions of artworks, artifacts, and historical sites globally, providing millions of people with the opportunity to admire them with just a click. In Vietnam, AI has been applied to digitize important structures such as the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, contributing to the preservation and transmission of historical values ​​to future generations. Furthermore, natural language processing technology supports the decoding of ancient texts, notably the application of AI to decode the Linear B language of ancient Greece, opening up many new discoveries about this civilization.

In the field of visual arts, AI is creating powerful movements. Algorithms like DeepDream and DALL-E are capable of transforming written descriptions into vivid, creative images. A clear example is the AI-generated painting "Edmond de Belamy," which sold at auction for over $400,000, confirming that this technology is not just experimental but has truly created economic and artistic value. In the field of music, AI is not only involved in the creative process but also optimizes production. The AIVA tool has been used to compose symphonies, create soundtracks for films and video games. Notably, AI contributed to completing Beethoven's unfinished Symphony No. 10 – an ambitious project aimed at recreating the spirit and legacy of this musical genius. In the field of architecture, AI assists in designing buildings with high precision, optimizing space, and saving energy. Tools like Grasshopper have helped architects realize many ideas that are both modern and sustainable.

However, the rapid development of AI also raises many pressing issues. Among them, copyright and creative ethics remain major questions. Who owns works created by AI – the artist, the programmer, or the organization that developed the AI? This question has yet to be answered satisfactorily and needs to be addressed with clearer legal regulations in the future.

Promoting global cultural diversity

AI technology is increasingly asserting its crucial role in preserving and promoting cultural diversity globally. More than just a technical tool, AI is opening up new ways to preserve and recreate cultural values, especially heritage and languages ​​that are at risk of disappearing.

AI technology is increasingly asserting its important role in preserving and promoting cultural diversity globally. (Photo: Journal of Political Theory)

With its ability to record, analyze, and reconstruct, AI has helped restore oral languages ​​that previously lacked official writing systems. A prime example is the collaborative project between the Icelandic government and OpenAI, using GPT-4 to preserve the Icelandic dialect, contributing to the preservation of national cultural identity amidst globalization. Another example is the AINU-GO AI project by Kyoto University (Japan), launched in 2020, aimed at preserving the Ainu language – a minority language in Hokkaido and Okinawa that faced extinction according to a UNESCO warning from 2009. Thanks to audio data collected from native speakers, the AI ​​system has reproduced up to 94% of phonemes and 80% of vocabulary, contributing to the restoration of speech that closely resembles the original pronunciation.

Major technology corporations are also actively involved in this effort. Microsoft, through its Cultural Heritage program, has developed AI tools to support communities in preserving and developing heritage using modern technology, expanding access to many population groups around the world.

However, alongside conservation efforts are challenges related to cultural diversity. Currently, most AI models, even those capable of handling hundreds of languages, are primarily trained on English or Western-language data. This poses a risk of cultural bias, undermining the identity of smaller cultures. Through increasingly rich interactions with global users, AI systems like ChatGPT are gradually integrating more diverse cultural contexts and characteristics, helping to mitigate the risk of cultural assimilation.

In the future, for AI to truly play a positive role in the arts and culture sector, experts emphasize the importance of close collaboration between technology and humans. AI should be seen as a tool to support creativity, helping artists explore new directions without losing human values. Simultaneously, building diverse and regularly updated datasets will help AI accurately reflect the richness of different cultures.

International cooperation between cultural and technological organizations will be key to spreading global artistic values ​​in a fair and sustainable manner. With its immense potential, AI will undoubtedly continue to accompany culture and art, but most importantly, people need to master this technology consciously and responsibly, ensuring that cultural development is not only rich in quantity but also profound in spirit and humanistic values.

Do Trang

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/doi-moi-sang-tao-trong-trai-nghiem-van-hoa-post547922.html