Developing social sciences to ensure sustainable national development

Speaking at the Hall on the morning of October 29, National Assembly Deputy Hoang Minh Hieu (Nghe An) emphasized: in addition to promoting the development of science, technology and innovation, it is necessary to pay more attention to the development of social sciences and humanities, considering this as the foundation to ensure the sustainable and comprehensive development of the country in the new period.

Harmonious development between science and society

Delegate Hoang Minh Hieu commented that the institutionalization and implementation of the Party's strategic guidelines and policies in recent times have created positive impacts on the country's socio -economic development. Breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation have contributed to enhancing Vietnam's position in the international arena.

“In 2025, Vietnam will maintain its ranking of 44/139 economies in the Global Innovation Index, and 6/40 countries in the World AI Index. These are positive signals, reflecting the Government’s efforts and correct orientation in developing a knowledge- and technology-based economy,” said the delegate.

However, to develop the country sustainably, the delegate said that: in addition to developing science and technology, it is also necessary to focus on developing social sciences and humanities because from a certain perspective, it can be said that if natural sciences and technology help people "do more", then social sciences help people "understand more correctly" about themselves and the society in which they live.

National Assembly Deputy Hoang Minh Hieu (Nghe An) speaks. Photo: Quang Khanh

According to the delegate, in recent times, Vietnam's social sciences have achieved many successes but there are still many challenges, such as: the connection between social science research results and policy making and socio-economic development is still limited.

One of the outstanding issues is the limited connection between social science research and policy making and socio-economic development. Many social science research topics often stop at the level of publishing results without being converted into specific and effective policies or solutions. Along with that, policy making in some cases has not made full use of social science research results as a tool for policy design and social impact measurement.

In addition, the financial mechanism and organization of social science research are not flexible and do not create motivation for research activities. Many policies and strategies for science and technology development in our country so far have been basically built for both natural sciences and social sciences, but often originate from the reality and requirements of natural sciences and technology rather than social sciences and humanities.

Meanwhile, social sciences study people and social relationships – which are always changing and linked to values, culture, and political context...

"Therefore, the approach of social sciences cannot be applied similarly to that of natural science models, but requires a more flexible funding, evaluation, recognition and implementation mechanism, based on academic quality and social value, not just based on commercialization of research results," delegate Hoang Minh Hieu emphasized.

Another issue that delegates also mentioned is that data infrastructure, research methods, and digital transformation for social sciences are still slow to be innovated. Traditional research methods are still dominant, and have not really shifted strongly to modern research methods. Digitizing data, standardizing data for research, and applying new methods still have many barriers: data systems for research are still scattered, not standardized, and analytical skills are inadequate.

Social sciences in the face of new technological challenges

Delegate Hoang Minh Hieu emphasized that in the current context, besides the rapid development of science and technology with the emergence of many new technologies, the need to discover, explain and propose solutions to social, legal, ethical and human value issues that new technologies pose is very urgent.

Overview of the meeting. Photo: Lam Hien

For example, artificial intelligence is the result of a long-term research process in the field of computer science, but it also raises a series of social issues. For example, questions such as: who owns the products created by AI; how can artificial intelligence systems not create discrimination; what ethical issues will be caused by allowing artificial intelligence systems to make life-or-death decisions without human intervention; who will be legally responsible for risks arising during the use of artificial intelligence systems - the AI ​​user or the person who created the algorithm for the AI ​​system... "These questions are within the scope of social sciences," emphasized delegate Hoang Minh Hieu.

From that reality, delegates suggested that in the coming time, the Government should research, invest in and develop social sciences suitable to the new context, focusing on the following groups of solutions:

Firstly, research and develop key social science and humanities development programs that focus on new issues associated with the development of new technologies to serve socio-economic development such as legal issues regarding the use of new technologies, digital sociology research, newly emerging non-traditional security issues, etc.

Second, innovate the financial mechanism and evaluation of social sciences, apply the mechanism for state agencies to order social science research to serve the planning of specific policies; continue to innovate the policy planning process to increase the scientific content in decision-making. Diversify the forms of publication and recognition of the value of research such as in the form of policy reports, legal advice, social data, etc.; increase funding for social science topics with high practical application without only evaluating based on the number of articles publishing research results.

Third, there are solutions to develop high-quality human resources in social sciences such as increasing investment in postgraduate training and international cooperation. There are policies to promote social scientists with courage and intelligence, who have contributed to the process of formulating policies for the country's socio-economic development.

Fourth, build social data infrastructure and digital learning ecosystem for social sciences, bring digital transformation into social science research methods – from big data analysis, social simulation, to systematization of cultural knowledge.

Fifth, strengthen the connection between social sciences and natural sciences, for example, the issue of “artificial intelligence and law” mentioned above, or research on social impacts and community needs when implementing digital transformation projects in certain areas... This is the “interface” - where social sciences provide a framework of values ​​and institutions to ensure that technology develops in the right direction.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/phat-trien-khoa-hoc-xa-hoi-de-bao-dam-phat-trien-ben-vung-dat-nuoc-10393441.html