Decoding the attraction of 'A.I Real Combat' contest broadcast on Vietnam Television

Vietnam’s first national artificial intelligence competition, 'A.I Thực chiến' (A.I Real Combat), aired its opening round at 8 p.m. Wednesday on state broadcaster VTV2, with a rebroadcast on VTV3 two days later.

The program, backed by the Ministry of Public Security and co-organized by national broadcaster VTV, the National Data Association, the National Data Center, and Techcombank, offers a prize pool including VND1 billion ($37,900), a scholarship package worth $1 million, and "USD millionaire U30" opportunities from Techcombank, Masterise Group, and One Mount Group.

Judges for the opening round included senior Vietnamese AI academics such as Prof. Doctor of Science Ho Tu Bao from the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics; Prof. Chu Duc Trinh, president of the University of of Technology under Hanoi National University; Associate Prof. Dr. Dinh Ngoc Thanh, vice president of the Global Network of Young Vietnamese Intellectuals and director of Technology GFI Group (Australia); Prof. Nguyen Phi Le from the Institute of Research and Application of Artificial Intelligence under Hanoi University of Science and Technology; and guest judge Miss Beauty Ngoc Han.

Leading the competition episodes are the MC duo Khanh Vy and Ngoc Thinh – familiar faces to television audiences across the country in many intellectual game shows. The talented and charming ‘7-language hot girl’ and the male MC VTV6 will accompany the competition episodes with a youthful and flexible hosting style.

'A.I Real Combat' attracts television audiences as the goal of innovation and AI solutions with high applicability are expected to be put into practice soon. Moreover, audiences will also directly participate in technological challenges right in the program, such as composing music and comics using AI, helping audiences of many ages and regions to better understand AI, in line with the goal of popularizing AI, bringing technology into life, and helping people form digital capacity, aligning with the goal of the Politburo's Resolution 57-NQ/TW on national digital transformation.

Sharing about what motivated him to join the arena of 'A.I Real Combat', a player from the MeddiesAI team - also an international student - said: "The AI application movement is happening very vigorously in work as well as in all aspects of daily life. Even in France, just by taking the train or going to work, I see the mark of AI everywhere. Therefore, I really hope that the spirit of 'A.I Real Combat' will spread more strongly in Vietnam. Even though I am studying far away, I still always look towards Vietnam. When I learned about this competition, I was really surprised by the scale of the organization and the national stature of the competition."

The special thing about ‘A.I Real Combat’ is that despite being a technology playground, the program still opens up opportunities for ‘amateur’ contestants, whose majors have little to do with AI. It is their passion, different perspectives and the urge to take risks that have helped them boldly enter a new field, step out of their comfort zone to assert themselves and prove that this playground is for everyone.

Nearly 400 teams applied for the preliminary round, with 100 teams selected for the main stage. They compete across 10 themes, each given $50 in API credits to build an AI solution within 120 minutes. To ensure transparency, the program logs all coding and testing history for judges to review.

Organizers said all test formats and technical systems were designed by Vietnamese engineers, aligning with the national “Make in Vietnam” technology initiative.

Thai Minh Diem Tu, marketing director of Techcombank and a representative of the co-organizer and exclusive sponsor, shared in the program introduction on November 22: "I am really impressed by the combat spirit and the products that the teams have deployed despite the time limit of only 120 minutes according to the regulations of the organizing board.

"Through ‘A.I Real Combat’, we want to prove that AI is not just for technology experts. This is also a national key program, backed by the Ministry of Public Security, with the goal of creating practical solutions for Vietnamese people. And I believe that every audience watching the program will have the same feeling about the closeness of AI in daily life and work."

In the digital age, AI is no longer a fantasy but has become a core element in the way people live, learn, work and operate society. AI is comprehensively changing economic and social sectors and plays a strategic role in enhancing national competitiveness. Vietnam is facing a golden opportunity to develop high-quality human resources in AI, creating new opportunities for AI talents to develop and contribute in the new era of national development.

The competition has attracted attention from domestic and international media, reflecting growing interest in Vietnam’s push to build AI capabilities and develop high-quality talent as part of its national digital strategy.

'A.I Thực chiến', or 'A.I Real Combat', will air at 8 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday on VTV2, with rebroadcasts on VTV3 at 9 a.m. on Mondays and Saturdays and on VTV4 at 6:15 p.m. every Friday and Sunday.