HÀ NỘI — Artificial intelligence is expanding at a pace unmatched in modern technology, reshaping industries and daily life.

But as AI tools become more accessible, experts are sounding the alarm over a growing dependence that could weaken human thinking – a trend they call “AI brain drain”.

The warning came at a workshop hosted on Saturday by India’s Aptech Group, where international and Vietnamese specialists discussed the emerging risks and the strategic choices Việt Nam must make as global competition intensifies.

Dr Rakhee Das of Amity University said AI development had entered a hyper-accelerated phase. Over the past year, the number of AI applications worldwide surged by more than 400 per cent, with around 1,000 new tools released every month. By next year, global investment in AI could exceed US$200 billion.

“AI is already transforming every major sector – from classrooms and hospitals to financial markets and the labour force,” she said.

Dr Das warned that many users were turning to AI for quick answers but failing to understand the underlying knowledge, creating gaps in critical thinking and essential skills. She also highlighted the immense cost of competing in the global race to build giant AI models like ChatGPT and Claude – a challenge that requires billions of dollars, vast datasets and thousands of engineers.

Rather than joining this race, she said Việt Nam was well placed to take advantage of a more strategic approach as businesses expand AI research and the Government accelerates its national AI agenda.

“The next five to ten years represent a golden window for Việt Nam. Young people will shape the country’s AI future – but responsible use is crucial,” she noted.

AI expert Nguyễn Quang Tuấn said that copying the model-building strategies of tech giants would be unrealistic for a developing economy. He pointed to a widening divide between academic training and industry needs, with many graduates well versed in algorithms but ill-prepared for real-world applications.

He argued that Việt Nam should prioritise applied-AI talent – people who can deploy AI to solve concrete problems and deliver immediate economic benefits. Without this shift, Việt Nam risks losing ground while other countries use AI to accelerate growth, according to Tuấn.

In the education sector, Chu Tuấn Anh, Director of the Aptech International Programmer Training System in Việt Nam, said signs of “AI-induced cognitive decline” were increasingly visible. Over reliance on AI had left some workers unable to write simple content, navigate familiar routes without digital maps or code basic functions unaided.

These patterns, he said, were no longer isolated. If unchecked, they could trigger job losses within a few years and lead to a workforce that “knows how to use AI but cannot think independently”.

To counter the trend, he proposed the “3T thinking method”, which encourages users to think first for at least three minutes before turning to AI, treat AI as a tool rather than a teacher, and restate or explain information after using AI to strengthen understanding.

“AI supports us, but it cannot replace the human mind. Re-explaining what you learn forces the brain to stay active,” he said.

At the conference, experts agreed that Việt Nam’s sustainable path in AI would lie not in competing with global giants but in developing skilled, adaptable human resources. By investing in practical training and responsible AI use, they said, Việt Nam could harness the technology’s benefits while safeguarding its cognitive strength in the digital age. — VNS