At a time when Vietnam is pushing to unlock new growth drivers, communication, creativity, and technology, especially AI, are emerging as powerful forces reshaping the future of media, culture, and the wider economy. An international conference on communications and the creative industries was hold at the British University Vietnam (BUV) Campus in Hung Yen province on November 2.
AI as catalyst and challenge for media transformation
Disruption is coming from another direction as well: AI. Dr. Nick Zhang from Hong Kong Baptist University, who leads research on AI in media, provided a sharp look at both the possibilities and the gaps in Vietnam and the region.
AI, he argued, is not just another tool. “AI is a fundamental shift in how content is created, distributed, and consumed.” But while major media groups can invest heavily, small- and mid-sized newsrooms, common in Vietnam, lack the resources to adopt AI effectively.
He highlighted a global paradox. Media leaders know AI matters, but their organisations lack strategy. “Generative AI use is very fragmented, and management sees the importance but doesn't know how to coordinate it,” he noted.
Zhang also raised the top challenges. Resource constraints as traditional advertising revenues decline; AI scepticism or fear among journalists; lack of technical knowledge, especially outside major cities; model bias, since most AI systems are trained on Western or Chinese datasets; gaps in cultural understanding, leading to accurate or tone-deaf AI-generated content; workflow mismatch between newsroom processes and AI capabilities.
He also warned of perception gaps. “Everyone thinks AI is super powerful,” he said. “But whether it can deliver what professionals want is a huge gap.” For example, AI may produce a news story that reads more like a press release, requiring extra human editing.
To address these issues, Hong Kong is developing integrated AI platforms with Google and Alibaba to help journalists use AI more efficiently while enabling researchers to study real-time human-machine interaction.
This model, Zhang argued, could inspire Vietnam. Universities can absorb the research and development burden, develop tailored tools, and provide training. “Curriculum redesign is very necessary,” he said. “We are in a permanent beta version, and we need to empower students with AI while keeping human-centric journalism.”