Discussing AI ethics in the Trinh Cong Son case, 3 female students won the philosophy competition

(Dan Tri) - Three secondary school students in Quang Tri won the 2025 national English philosophy competition thanks to their sharp viewpoints on the case of recreating Trinh Cong Son using AI on television.

The final round of the third national English philosophy competition for under 16s (JPO) took place this morning, May 25, at Olympia High School, Hanoi . This year's theme is Greek philosopher Aristotle and the future generation.

The champion of the competition for students in grades 7-9 is the Dynametises team consisting of 3 female students from Dong Ha - Quang Tri : Le Ngoc Minh - grade 8, Tran Hung Dao Secondary School, Truong Khanh Anh and Tran Le Thanh Truc - grade 7, Nguyen Trai Secondary School.

3 students from Quang Tri won the 2025 English Philosophy Competition (Photo: Provided by the Organizing Committee).

The three students surpassed hundreds of strong candidates from many private and international schools in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang , Vung Tau... to win the highest scores from the judges with a challenging question.

Accordingly, the contest cited a controversial example: a music video broadcast on television created with artificial intelligence, which recreated the image and voice of the late musician Trinh Cong Son.

From this incident, the teams had to use Aristotle's metaphysics and ethics to connect and discuss whether VTV should use artificial intelligence to recreate Trinh Cong Son's image and voice for a memorial video after his death, or should respect the artist's latent wishes and avoid using artificial intelligence to change his image without his consent.

From a dissenting perspective, three female students said that using AI in the above case is ethically dangerous.

"We believe that using artificial intelligence to recreate the image and voice of the late musician Trinh Cong Son is completely unreasonable.

Artificial intelligence does not reproduce the truth, it creates illusions, misleads viewers and distorts the true memory of the artist.

We believe that if we want to remember him, there are many more authentic and meaningful ways than letting simulation technology replace him mechanically. Recreating his entire image and voice is not only technically wrong but also morally dangerous, eroding respect for the deceased," said Le Ngoc Minh.

Minh also cited Aristotle's philosophy of respecting truth to assert that future generations should respect the truth and privacy of the deceased artist.

"We believe that no one should be 'resurrected' through technology without consent. This is not an honor, it is an invasion," read part of the three female students' debate.

Le Ngoc Minh said that the students had more than 1 month to prepare for the contest. The process of learning, studying and discussing Aristotle's metaphysics and ethics not only helped them form basic philosophical concepts but also apply them in real life.

"We understand that everything, right or wrong, has value at each moment. At the same time, in life, we should make a choice in the middle, not too biased. Balancing reason and emotion will also help each person have better relationships," Ngoc Minh shared.

Winning with Ngoc Minh, Khanh Anh and Thanh Truc are 3 5th grade students - champions of the competition for grades 4-6.

This is a special team with 3 students coming from 3 different provinces and cities: Duong Minh Khoa - 5th grade, Luong The Vinh Primary School, Ho Chi Minh City; Ngo Phuong Nghi - 5th grade, Tan Phu C Primary School, Binh Phuoc province; To Ngoc Hieu - 5th grade, Mai Dong Primary School, Hanoi.

The English Philosophy Competition is held nationwide, with online and in-person rounds. Round 1 is to explore the theme of the poem provided by the organizers, connect it to Aristotle's philosophy and then answer related questions.

Round 2 is a 90-minute writing test. In this round, all 3 members of a team must write a personal essay, ensuring that when put together, it will create a harmonious, complete whole, in order to highlight the common thesis that the team has proposed. This is a new form of writing test for high school students.

Round 3, teams compete in philosophy knowledge with a "pairing" challenge.

The best teams will advance to the final round - the final - to participate in a philosophical discussion according to international standards.

The contest is organized with the aim of introducing philosophical thinking, encouraging children to learn and research profound humanistic content, thereby forming a philosophy of life and ego on the journey to adulthood.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/luan-dao-duc-ai-vu-trinh-cong-son-3-nu-sinh-vo-dich-cuoc-thi-triet-hoc-20250525170247548.htm