Chatbot AI Askonomy, also known as the “Economic Information Assistant” Askonomy, has launched a new version at the National Press Conference 2024. Askonomy was developed by VnEconomy Magazine and its partner Actable AI.
Security and the accuracy of data sources are major concerns for many organizations when it comes to AI chatbots. Mr. Tran Hoai Van, COO of Actable AI, the development partner of Askonomy, shared how Askonomy addresses this issue in an interview with VnEconomy Magazine.
VIETNAM’S AI CHATBOT MARKET IS ON PAR WITH THE WORLD
First of all, how do you evaluate the global and Vietnamese AI chatbot market?
I must say, from a technological standpoint, chatbots have been around since the early days of computers, when computers became capable of interacting with and assisting users. However, the concept of chatbots has evolved. Nowadays, chatbots are tools that users use to receive information through text-based conversations. And now, a second generation of chatbots is emerging, which, in my view, are intelligent virtual assistants.
With this advancement, the interactive capabilities of chatbots with humans have improved. Despite still having limitations, chatbots today have become more “human-like.” From a technical and professional standpoint, we can see that chatbots have undergone a developmental process from traditional models, using scripts and rigid communications, to more sophisticated language models that have the ability to select words and images flexibly. Currently, chatbots have become smarter and are known as virtual assistants, with large language models (LLM) that can process various languages.
Looking from a market perspective, let’s evaluate the supply and demand of chatbots. In the initial stage when chatbots first appeared, people were very interested and used them a lot. However, later on, they found that chatbots had many limitations and did not meet their actual needs, leading to a decline in usage and sometimes completely forgetting about the existence of chatbots.
However, the appearance of ChatGPT brings about uniqueness and surprise. With this large language model, the trend of using chatbots has become a very attractive trend and everyone can feel it. If there is demand, there will be supply; if there is demand diversity, there will be diverse supply.
Looking from both the domestic and international market perspectives, I believe there are many similarities. Although Vietnam may have some lag compared to the international market, currently, with the Internet, in a flat world, the penetration of a product or technology into a country has become simple, especially for Vietnam where the Internet development speed is seen as very attractive.
In your opinion, should Vietnam develop chatbots to target a large number of users or should they focus on specialized products?
Let the market decide the scale at which chatbots should be developed. In my opinion, currently, chatbots can serve many aspects of life. There are aspects that only serve a small number of users, but there will also be large-scale demands from society. And we can divide them into two models, “2Cs” and “2Bs,” both of which have opportunities for development in Vietnam.
While “2Bs” focus on specialized and niche areas, “2Cs” aim to popularize their services for everyone. However, each region and province has its own characteristics that require different data processing and information. Therefore, the investment and development opportunities for both models in Vietnam are still wide open, serving both niche and general markets.
ASKONOMY ENSURES DATA SECURITY AND ACCURATE RESULTS THROUGH RELIABLE DATA SOURCES
Yes, as you mentioned, Vietnamese businesses have many opportunities to participate in the chatbot market. So, what challenges will they face in chatbot business?
In terms of supply, I am confident that there will be a lot of supply, meaning that many businesses will participate in the market because there is currently a boom in demand. However, during the development process, I have noticed two main limitations. The first is about data, and the second is about investment sources. To make chatbots develop and become user-friendly, capable of providing accurate and valuable information, they need accurate and up-to-date data. Furthermore, this data needs to be designed to meet the best output requirements.
Regarding data, up to this point in Vietnam, for businesses and the whole country, it is evident that data is a big issue. Data is fragmented and not truly “clean,” which creates a barrier for chatbot development.
The second barrier is the cost of investment and maintaining an efficient language model. In addition, costs such as infrastructure, personnel, construction, maintenance, and training can be burdensome for organizations, businesses, and even the state. Even large chatbot models worldwide require billions of dollars to deploy.
However, costs may not be a significant concern. Developing a language model similar to ChatGPT and directly competing with ChatGPT can place significant financial demands, but the cost pressure will be greatly reduced when businesses focus on popularizing and meeting domestic demand, mainly using the Vietnamese language and taking step by step.
Moreover, the investment capital market has a global scope. Therefore, what is crucial is for businesses to have an efficient business model that meets market demand and has the ability to penetrate new markets. By doing so, the investment capital will no longer be a major issue.
What are your thoughts on the security aspect of AI chatbots?
I am not an expert in security, but it can be seen that, in the AI field, security is a new area of knowledge, new to the world. This means that besides AI being an information technology machine, it requires conventional security measures, but AI is also specifically related to input data, the training process, and training input data for the model.
During this process, there may be many security issues that can cause deviations in AI output results. Hackers can also interfere with data, affecting the accuracy of AI. These are security risks specific to AI virtual assistants. Therefore, output results may violate two vulnerabilities that we are concerned about. They are violations of ethical standards and violations of the law.
In addition, an important aspect of AI is the input data of the model, often in the form of text or requests from users in the form of chat or voice. The language’s specific nature in this input makes the process of connecting to data systems and models unique, which can create security vulnerabilities or misinformation. Addressing this issue requires expertise in AI security to ensure that questions and ideas fed into the AI model are processed accurately and safely. If this process is not carried out correctly, the results could be skewed, resulting in inaccurate answers from the AI.
As the COO of Actable AI, the partner of VnEconomy and the producer of Askonomy, can you share with VnEconomy readers about the security solutions of Askonomy?
In the process of researching and developing Askonomy, we have always emphasized security, especially by focusing on using reliable and verified data sources from the beginning. Askonomy’s data is obtained from VnEconomy’s exclusive data sources, as well as authorized and exploitable official data sources. With such data sources, we believe that the output results of Askonomy are very reliable.
In addition to obtaining accurate and clean data from quality sources, we also prioritize regular data updates. This will ensure that the results of Askonomy meet the requirements of the demanding market that we care about, which is made up of individuals knowledgeable about the economy who want to learn about economic information, experts, and businesspeople. These user groups have high knowledge and evaluation skills regarding economic data and require high accuracy and completeness of data sources and output information. Therefore, we hope that the accuracy and quality of the data on Askonomy will gradually meet their needs. This is also a strength of Askonomy.
ASKONOMY VIRTUAL ASSISTANT BRINGS A COMPLETELY NEW WAY OF READING NEWS
So it can be seen that Askonomy has overcome a major challenge in terms of security and the accuracy of information. This has been a big limitation of AI chatbots, thanks to reliable and regularly updated data sources. Askonomy is an “economic information assistant,” targeting a specific user group. Regarding the business aspect, how does Actable AI plan to approach and attract potential customers to use Askonomy?
In addition to the strengths of Askonomy that I mentioned above, I also have another perspective, which is our breakthrough in the media market. In the past, readers usually read the news to get information, but with Askonomy, they can engage in conversations, exchange information naturally, and obtain information that closely suits their needs. This helps them access information more easily and efficiently.
From my perspective, we are developing a completely new type of media product, truly a breakthrough in the communication industry. This difference is a natural and attractive form of communication material that can be spread and go viral very well. Clearly, from reading physical newspapers, switching to online newspapers, or reading on mobile phones, this new way of reading with Askonomy will be particularly appealing to young generations who love to update market information. If we know how to use this product in our communication strategy, I believe that this will be an extremely attractive and effective way to approach the market.
The second aspect is that with a reputable media agency like VnEconomy, I believe that VnEconomy already has a considerable number of loyal readers. We bring Askonomy to these loyal readers and allow them to experience the new product, which will help expand the market. I believe that VnEconomy and the development team will find accurate and fast customer acquisition approaches for Askonomy and VnEconomy in this new phase. The goal is to create loyalty, expand, and ensure quality, which is what many other media organizations desire.
Therefore, I understand that using Askonomy is like a new way of reading news, a more active way of reading for readers. Instead of just reading in traditional ways like print newspapers, online news, or on mobile phones, now readers can decide the content they want to read and search for specific information according to their own needs. They also have the opportunity to access related and more detailed articles. In other words, they actively read the news rather than just accessing an online news site and reading available articles. In conclusion, readers will have a flexible and personalized news reading experience. Is this understanding correct?
That’s right, meeting users’ needs is essential, especially in the current Internet environment, where information consumption always needs to be “fast and convenient.” Because of “fast and convenient,” people often say that we are being spammed with information, making it difficult to find information. It means that we go online or on social media and get lost in information.
With Askonomy, having conversations instead of reading articles is an effective solution. Users don’t need to read many different articles like when using a search engine. Askonomy provides quick and accurate consolidated information through conversations. In the future, Askonomy will also enhance its chat function by allowing users to use voice interactions, enhancing the user experience and helping users receive information quickly and accurately. I believe this will be an interesting experience in the near future.
