The draft revised Law on University Education does not have a separate chapter or provision for AI.

The draft revised Law on Higher Education, which is currently in the consultation phase, does not yet have any chapters or provisions specifically designed for artificial intelligence (AI).

Students of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry attend the conference

Photo: TH

Suggestive information on how to use artificial intelligence (AI) in the university environment is one of many contents shared at the national workshop "Legal issues on digital technology, digital economy (legal framework on digital technology industry)" taking place at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry today (June 5).

At the workshop, Dr. Dang Hoang Vu and Dr. Truong Thi Mai (lecturers at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry) shared their research on "AI in teaching and learning: legal and ethical boundaries in digital universities". In their speech, the experts cited data from a 2023 UNESCO report showing that more than 60% of universities surveyed globally have deployed at least one AI application in training management or teaching. In Vietnam, many surveys show that the majority of lecturers and teachers have used AI in at least one teaching step, mainly in document searching, multiple choice test grading and creating teaching slides. However, the rapid development and versatility of AI in university education are creating a series of legal and ethical issues that the current legal system is not able to keep up with.

Pointing out the legal gaps regarding AI in Vietnam, the two experts said that it is not only the absence of specific regulations but also the lack of connection between specialized laws, the delay in policy adjustment and the lack of institutional coordination mechanisms between the state, educational institutions and technology enterprises - three entities that play a core role in the AI ​​ecosystem in university education.

More specifically, the discussion stated that the current legal system on higher education does not have any direct regulations governing the use of AI in academic activities, teaching, testing and assessment, as well as learning management. The current Law on Higher Education mainly approaches the content of educational innovation from the perspective of institutional governance, university autonomy and international integration, while the concepts of " digital technology ", "artificial intelligence" or "academic digital transformation" have not been mentioned. The draft revised Law on Higher Education, which is currently in the consultation phase, has only initially updated the general orientation on digital transformation, technology autonomy and digital infrastructure, but there are still no chapters or provisions specifically designed for AI, nor has it approached the direction of risk analysis or quality assessment of AI in teaching.

In addition, the draft Law on Digital Technology Industry, although it has opened an important direction in building legal institutions for digital technology products and services, including AI, has not yet dedicated content to the education sector, especially university education. Concepts such as "AI content creation", "AI in training", "AI grading" have not appeared in this draft at all. The relationship between technology developers (AI enterprises) and educational institutions (technology users) has not been clarified, leading to a situation where legal responsibility when incidents such as incorrect grading, data breaches, etc. are left open.

In terms of practice, the two PhDs said: "Universities in Vietnam are applying AI in teaching, administration and learning quite strongly but in a fragmented manner, lacking a common direction and without unified ethical or legal standards. The gap in testing tools and monitoring AI systems used in education is a serious weakness. Currently, there are no regulations requiring AI tools used in teaching and learning to undergo pedagogical, ethical or technical quality testing."

On that basis, experts from Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry said: "The smarter AI is, the more humans need to affirm their humanistic ethical position as a subject who knows how to choose, knows limits and knows how to refuse replacement when necessary. If not controlled, AI can lead to academic corruption: where knowledge is produced as a commodity, learners are turned into behavioral data and lecturers become 'machine learning coordination engineers' instead of spiritual enlightenment guides".

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/du-thao-luat-giao-duc-dh-sua-doi-chua-co-chuong-hoac-dieu-khoan-rieng-cho-ai-185250605162951268.htm