From digital ward to AI village - highland on the journey to touch the future

Strange concepts such as artificial intelligence (AI) or digital transformation have now become closer to Lai Chau people thanks to the "hands-on" support from Viettel . (Photo: ANH TUAN)

Tan Phong Ward - a newly established administrative unit after the merger, is where the digital transformation journey is taking place clearly every day. Meanwhile, in Bo village, where tea growers are accustomed to the highland lifestyle, "AI classes" open up opportunities to approach technology in a very unique way.

Those two slices, though small, reflect a big picture, where digital transformation is no longer a slogan, but an action in the mountainous province of the North.

Tan Phong Ward - when technology touches every cadre and citizen

With more than 36,000 people and 18 ethnic groups living together, Tan Phong ward must both stabilize its apparatus and keep up with the demands of the digital age. This is a big challenge for a new administrative unit, but also an opportunity to start everything from zero in the most modern way.

Since its establishment, Viettel Lai Chau has accompanied the local government in building a "digital ward" model: managing population data, handling field feedback, online conferences, electronic public services... Ward officials are trained to use AI virtual assistants in public service, supporting document drafting, legal research, and synthesizing reports quickly and accurately.

In addition, 46 community digital technology teams were established, in coordination with the Youth Union and the Ward Police, "going to every alley, knocking on every door, guiding every person" so that people know how to follow information via Zalo, fanpage, and the provincial electronic portal. There is no longer a gap between "technology" and "people". Everything is gradually becoming a habit.

Vice Chairman of Tan Phong Ward People's Committee Le Xuan Dung shared: "If in the past, officials had to spend hours looking up documents or summarizing reports, now it only takes a few minutes on the system. Each task is processed more quickly and accurately, helping the apparatus operate transparently and effectively."

After nearly four months of implementation, the volume of paper documents has decreased by more than 60%, the time to process documents has been shortened by 30-40%, and the productivity of staff has increased significantly. Digital infrastructure, from cloud storage systems, digital signatures, to Viettel Meeting, is gradually becoming the new "blood vessels" of the ward.

People learn to make friends with AI

If Tan Phong is a typical example of administrative digital transformation, then Bo village is a vivid image of community digital transformation, where technology is brought to the village, to each person.

In early November 2025, the Bo village cultural house was unusually crowded. Not because of a festival or a wedding, but because of a special class - the "digital literacy" class. There, Viettel Lai Chau staff directly instructed commune officials and village chiefs to use AI to do seemingly complicated tasks such as: drafting speeches, writing reports, making presentation slides, or quickly looking up information using tools like ChatGPT and Gamma.

Mr. Vu Ngoc Son, Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union of Ban Bo commune, said: “In the past, people were only used to writing by hand, never thinking that they could use computers to create presentations or documents. Now that Viettel has given them on-site instructions, everyone is excited. Some people even jokingly said: 'AI helps me speak better than myself'.”

Highlanders can now use AI to create documents for personal needs. (Photo: ANH TUAN)

Not stopping there, Viettel also supported the commune government to digitize the tea growing areas, helping people create digital maps for each production area. This is the basis for managing raw material areas, tracing origins, and gradually bringing Ban Bo tea products to e-commerce platforms such as Viettel Post, Shopee, Lazada.

Bags of green tea are now not only sold at local markets but can also reach consumers in Hanoi or Da Nang in just a few days. Viettel Post supports logistics, and the team in the village learns how to livestream, take photos, and write product descriptions - skills that no one thought of before. For the people, it is not just "online sales", but the first step in the digital economy.

From Tan Phong to Ban Bo, Lai Chau’s digital transformation story still faces many difficulties. Some older officials are still hesitant to work on digital platforms, many highland residents are not familiar with using online services, and local data infrastructure is still in the process of being completed. Concepts such as email, prompt, slide… are still relatively unfamiliar.

However, the important thing is that people have started. Regular training sessions are held, and each group of cadres is given specific instructions. Community digital technology teams do not mind the long distance, bringing computers and phones to each village to "hold hands and show how to do things". Although this method is laborious, it is effective, because only when technology is connected to real life, people will see its true benefits.

Vice Chairman of Lai Chau Provincial People's Committee Tong Thanh Hai affirmed: "Digital transformation is not only the task of administrative agencies, but must be closely linked to people's lives. Lai Chau aims to ensure that every citizen has access to and can use technology to serve their lives. That is a long-term and sustainable direction."

The digital transformation journey in Lai Chau is still long, but the first changes are already evident. From remote villages to administrative centers, technology is blurring the lines, bringing new confidence and motivation to the land in the far west of the country.

TA ANH TUAN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/tu-phuong-so-den-ban-ai-vung-cao-tren-hanh-trinh-cham-vao-tuong-lai-post922507.html