In response to the National Digital Transformation Day (October 10), the National Digital Transformation High-Level Forum 2026 took place on the afternoon of October 9 in Hanoi. The forum was organized by the National Digital Transformation Agency, the Vietnam Institute for Innovation and Digital Transformation (VIDTI), in collaboration with the Stamford Global Leadership Center, under the direction and sponsorship of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations, and the Hanoi People's Committee.
The forum brings together representatives from state management agencies, experts, and domestic and international organizations to exchange ideas and solutions to promote national digital transformation , especially improving institutions, applying artificial intelligence (AI) in governance, developing digital government, and next-generation public services.
One of the highlights of the Forum was the panel discussion "Digital Government and Next-Generation Public Services," which posed the question: How can the State shift from waiting for citizens to complete procedures to proactively providing services based on life events, data-driven and AI-powered, while ensuring trust and accountability?
The panel discussion was moderated by Ms. Tran Tue Tri – Founder and CEO of Stamford Global Leadership Center, with the participation of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang Huu Hanh – Deputy Director of the National Digital Transformation Department, Ministry of Science and Technology; Mr. Vu Tien Dung – representative of Department C12, Ministry of Public Security ; Dr. Do Trung Anh - Director of the Innovation Center, Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology; and Dr. Bangdao Chen – Co-founder of the Blockchain Research Center, University College Oxford.
Experts focused their discussions on the fundamental conditions for developing digital government and next-generation public services, ranging from data interoperability and AI applications in governance to information security and accountability, and the potential for deploying Agent City – an urban model utilizing AI agents – in Vietnam.
From digitizing procedures to proactive public services for citizens.
The panel discussion outlined an approach shifting from digitizing existing administrative procedures to designing proactive, intelligent, and citizen-centered public services. The discussion focused on three core conditions: data, institutions, and operational capacity.
Instead of simply evaluating the number of online public services, experts consider the tangible results: citizens no longer needing to re-enter information already available to the government, seamless coordination among agencies in processing applications, and services tailored to real-life situations.
Agent City – The next step in the development of smart cities.
The highlight of the panel discussion was the Agent City topic, discussed with Dr. Bangdao Chen. Unlike the smart city approach that focuses on sensors, data, and monitoring systems, the Agent City model proposes the possibility of adding a layer of AI agents that collaborate to perform tasks on data platforms and system interfaces.
At the seminar, Dr. Bangdao Chen shared international pilot examples, measurable results, and practical lessons, including failures. For Vietnam, the questions raised were: what scope should the pilot program be conducted on, who is responsible when AI actors act, and how to ensure data security, sovereignty , and human control.
The conditions to consider include open-standard APIs, mechanisms for identifying and authorizing AI agents, audit logs, human oversight based on risk levels, and a controlled testing environment. One approach proposed for discussion is to start with low-risk internal tasks before expanding to services that directly impact citizens.
Besides the technological potential, the discussion addressed issues such as one-time data declaration, inter-agency interoperability, data quality, citizens' rights, and accountability. The application of AI needs to be linked to clear processes, error correction mechanisms, and the operational capacity of officials, especially at the grassroots level.
The issues raised point toward the principle of risk-based automation: Technology can assist in analysis and recommendations, but decisions affecting people's rights must be made with accountability.
Smart Government 2030: Measured by Trust and Experience
In the concluding section, each invited speaker presented a metric for measuring Vietnam's progress toward building a smart government by 2030 and a limit that must not be exceeded when using data and AI in public services.
The shared content focuses on the digital transformation of government and the application of AI in public services in Vietnam.
The suggested indicators include the error rate and handover to humans of AI agents, the percentage of procedures that do not require re-declaration of information, the digital capacity of commune-level officials, and the number of proactively operating public services. The ultimate measure is not just the number of online services, but also the experience and trust of the people.
The content shared focuses on the digital transformation of the government and the application of AI in public services in Vietnam.
Speakers emphasized that the core foundation of this process is data, which must adhere to the principles of "accuracy, completeness, cleanliness, viability, consistency, and shared use." Key challenges identified include the collection and integration of fragmented and inconsistent data across ministries and agencies, and the need to build infrastructure to ensure data sovereignty and AI sovereignty.
Proposed solutions include redesigning the entire process before automation, using AI agents to connect the systems, and establishing a "sandbox" testing environment to safely test new solutions. A key principle emphasized is that humans must always retain ultimate control (human in the loop), and the ultimate goal of technology is to create value and improve people's lives.
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Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: Vietnam.vn, 09.10.2026
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