Bao Tram: Thank you, Mr. Woo, for granting VOV24/7 this interview. Could you further elaborate on Google’s support for Vietnam’s adoption of AI?

Marc Woo: We (Google) have a long-term commitment in Vietnam. It's not starting this year. We started our efforts years ago. We do want to ensure that we leverage all the advantages that Vietnam has, its young population, the vibrant startup community, as well as the government's encouragement. We have an umbrella program in this country called “Build for Vietnam with Google AI”.

Again, this is not a new commitment by us. We’ve long been a supporter and enabler of Vietnam's digital transformation. Some examples of what we’ve done before are Accelerate Vietnam Digital 4.0, Startup Launchpad, Career Certificates, and Coding for the Future. These are just some examples of the many things we've done in Vietnam.

Bao Tram: What about Google’s Career Certificates program and AI Essentials course, which are helping Vietnam train new talent? What is the progress so far?

Marc Woo: AI is a relatively new technology. Vietnam, along with a lot of other countries, is facing a transition in terms of the number of AI experts or AI practitioners in the market. People are eager to learn. Students are eager to get a certificate from an AI course. Those already in the workforce understand that they need to pivot so they can continue growing their career.

Now, what are we doing about it? As part of Build for Vietnam with Google AI, we have a key pillar, which is ‘Build for Talent with Google AI’. We want to empower Vietnam's human capital.

That’s a principle that we’ve adopted for many years, and the latest initiative, which we just launched, is called AI Essentials. It's a course that’s done through Google Career Certificates, and it aims to bridge the gap between the demand for AI specialists and what's available on the supply side. We’re offering 40,000 scholarships for the AI Essentials course, and it very much aligns with Vietnam's strategy to develop a highly skilled AI workforce to drive domestic innovation.

Bao Tram: What are the criteria for receiving a scholarship for this course or for enrolling without a scholarship?

Marc Woo: Well, I think the key requirement is having the right spirit, but I do want to say that it's open to a lot of people. The Career Certificates page can be accessed by anyone, but for this AI Essentials course, which is open to anyone, we're offering 40,000 scholarships.

So who can participate? We think the target market for this course is university students who are thinking about pursuing a career in IT, but we don't look at their background or educational path. We make it universally accessible. So that's one.

Number two is job seekers who are out in the labor market looking for a job. It doesn't matter which sector they're going into because we believe all sectors will require the power and magic of AI.

Third is tech professionals. Tech professionals are the low-hanging fruit, in a way. For IT professionals and those who are new to the field and are learning the basics of whatever technological field they're going into, AI Essentials will be critical for their learning path.

And lastly, the underserved community: communities where it's difficult to get access to high-speed internet, communities where the household income is below average. We’re making sure this program goes beyond the cities, beyond the folks who can afford it, with the intention of fostering a more inclusive community, regardless of ethnic background, ability, or experience. And that's Build for Talent.

Bao Tram: How about the AI-focused Google for Startups Accelerator program?

Marc Woo:We’ve noticed that there are more and more AI startups and AI-powered startups in Vietnam and the region. Nearly 90% of Gen AI unicorns have tools to rapidly develop, commercialize, and scale their products. The reason why we’re investing in the startup space, in the AI Accelerator and the AI Masterclass, is because we believe in Vietnam’s AI potential. So, we’re investing there.

Now, AI is not something that businesses or users will suddenly pivot to and ditch everything else. AI is intertwined with a lot of the technology that we have today.

Think about generative AI, think about the chatbot, think about how images are being produced. Now, with the power of AI, productivity has increased. Similarly, for certain sectors or businesses in Vietnam – government services, for example – Viettel – they came out with an AI-powered legal assistant.

In manufacturing, they’re using AI to increase productivity and be more efficient. In agriculture, they're building new variants of rice to make it more climate resistant. And in medicine, they're helping doctors diagnose diseases and symptoms more accurately with the power of AI.

So, the possibilities are endless. That's why we're very excited about this new technology. We're excited that Vietnam is the country, I believe, that will bring this adoption to the next level, because the savviness and the speed at which the Vietnamese users, the Vietnamese businesses, adopt new technology is tremendous.

That's why we’re investing heavily in this country through our umbrella program “Build for the Future with Google AI”.

Bao Tram: Thank you, Mr. Woo, for joining us today.

Marc Woo: Thank you very much for having me, and I want to specifically thank VOV for this engaging interview.