This requires fundamental solutions to ensure fairness, safety and efficiency in research, while promoting sustainable development in the academic and creative environment.
Right hand man
Experts point out that subjectivity, multi-methodology and emphasis on context are prominent features in the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting data in social science research. Therefore, humans always play a central role in social science, and the application of artificial intelligence in this field also has its own characteristics, more complex than in the exact sciences. AI not only plays the role of a supporting tool, but has now become a research object of the social sciences and humanities themselves.
Dr. Pham Si An (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) commented: One of the reasons why artificial intelligence has become an attractive tool for social science and humanities researchers is its ability to process large amounts of unstructured data such as text, audio, and images - common types of data in fields such as history, linguistics, anthropology, or cultural studies.
Today, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) tools can help extract information from millions of news articles, archaeological documents, interview transcripts, or social media posts, helping researchers spot patterns, analyze trends, and make policy recommendations.
AI also supports the automation of many stages in the research process such as encoding qualitative data, analyzing topics, classifying opinions or building predictive models of social behavior; supporting researchers to address questions beyond the limits of traditional methods.
Specifically in the field of history, AI is contributing to the digitization and recognition of ancient texts.
National Archives Center I has applied AI to convert more than 80,000 Nguyen Dynasty documents from Han and Nom characters into digital form, serving storage and search.
At Ho Chi Minh City National University, the NomNaOCR project has digitized thousands of pages of Han Nom documents, creating the largest data set in Vietnam for research and reference.
The University of Science (Ho Chi Minh City National University) also developed an automatic translation system from Nom script to Quoc Ngu script, integrating knowledge of culture, geography and language to increase accuracy.
In philosophy research and teaching, many universities have proactively applied AI to support students and lecturers. A typical example is TrietGPT - a virtual assistant developed by Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Hai ( Hanoi National University), capable of interpreting abstract concepts, suggesting cognitive depth for learners and researchers. In addition, many lecturers have tested AI tools such as ChatGPT, Bing AI or Google Gemini to prepare lesson plans and build philosophical discussion content.
Many universities in Ho Chi Minh City have organized workshops and training courses on AI for lecturers, students and researchers. The Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics is also experimenting with AI applications in teaching.
Similarly, in the fields of archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies, and regional development studies, AI is being used to analyze images, videos, audio, and text collected from local communities; through this, researchers can identify behavioral patterns, social organization models, and unique cultural characteristics.
AI algorithms support the analysis of informal language, patterns, symbols, and graphics in festivals and religious rituals, helping to compare similarities and differences between ethnic groups in the same geographical area.
AI also helps identify local clusters of economic activity or vulnerable social areas, assisting planners in prioritizing areas for policy intervention.
Dr. Hoang Hong Hiep (Institute of Social Sciences of the Central and Central Highlands Region) said: “Environmental research and monitoring work benefits greatly from AI, through the ability to analyze data from sensors, monitoring stations and satellite images. AI can predict floods and landslides early with high accuracy, thereby optimizing evacuation and relief distribution.”
Challenges and solutions
It is clear that AI is changing the research environment in the social sciences and humanities, with far-reaching impacts such as enhancing the ability to collect and process data, discover new problems and hypotheses, improve the efficiency of quantitative and qualitative analysis, and support social policy design. However, the application of AI in research also raises many noteworthy issues.
First of all, there is the risk of dependence on technology. Misuse of AI can make researchers dependent on pre-existing biases in data warehouses, reducing the ability to reason, think critically and humanely - the core elements of social science. In addition, experts warn of a number of other challenges such as: The gap in technological capacity among researchers, the lack of open data platforms and interdisciplinary connections, as well as ethical and copyright issues in the use of AI.
At the scientific workshop “Application of artificial intelligence: Opportunities and challenges for social science research in Vietnam today”, Dr. Kieu Thanh Nga (Institute of South Asian, West Asian and African Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) emphasized: As a leading research institution in the field of social sciences, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) needs to take proactive actions to adapt to the AI era; urgently develop a medium and long-term development strategy, associated with the goal of integrating AI technology into the entire research cycle; promote training and fostering digital capacity for the research team, narrowing the digital skills gap; and at the same time, develop digital infrastructure to meet the requirements of data storage, analysis and sharing. In addition, VASS also needs to develop a code of academic ethics in the AI era, clearly defining the responsibility of researchers in checking and verifying results generated by AI.
In Vietnam, current laws mainly regulate technological-technical aspects, and there are no specific regulations for specific issues in social science and humanities research. While technology industries focus on efficiency and optimization, social sciences are associated with ethics, culture and human rights. Therefore, AI with its automation and dependence on big data can pose risks if there is no appropriate control mechanism.
According to Dr. Pham Thuy Nga (Institute of State and Law - VASS), notable legal issues include: Protection of personal data in surveys of vulnerable groups, liability when AI causes bias, intellectual property rights for AI-supported products, lack of transparency in closed AI models, and ethical risks when abusing AI to create academic content.
Completing the legal framework for the application of AI in social science and humanities research is becoming an urgent requirement, ensuring that technology is developed within the framework of the rule of law, respecting humanistic values, and serving the community. This is also the basis for promoting advanced, modern, and sustainable science, in accordance with the spirit of Resolution 57 of the Politburo on breakthroughs, development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation.
According to VU QUYNH TRANG/Nhan Dan Newspaper
Original article linkSource: https://baovanhoa.vn/nhip-song-so/ung-dung-ai-trong-khoa-hoc-xa-hoi-va-nhan-van-147206.html
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