Artificial intelligence is creating revolutionary waves in many industries, and law is no exception. From leading law firms in the West to the Asian judicial system, AI has proven its ability to process huge volumes of legal information in record time. In Vietnam, the trend of digital transformation in the judicial sector has received special attention. State agencies are gradually digitizing their workflows, from managing electronic records to building centralized legal document databases. This creates a solid foundation for the application of AI, turning "dry" data blocks into powerful support tools for legal experts. The change does not stop at automating procedural work. AI opens up the ability to "think" complex analysis, from predicting litigation outcomes to assessing legal risks in commercial contracts.

Vietnam has made important strides in building a legal framework for digital technology. The 2018 Law on Cyber ​​Security lays the foundation for protecting data and information in the digital environment. Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP on personal data protection, effective from July 2023, has created a clear legal corridor for data collection and processing - the core element of every AI system. In fact, AI has begun to be applied in some specific areas of the Vietnamese legal industry. The national legal document lookup system has integrated smart search features, helping users quickly find relevant regulations with just simple keywords. In contract analysis, some law offices have experimented with using AI to review standard clauses, detecting anomalies or omissions. In particular, in the field of assisting judges, AI can analyze similar cases in the past, providing references on the appropriate level of punishment or compensation.

Singapore is considered a world leader in AI governance. In January 2019, Singapore announced the Model AI Governance Framework at the World Economic Forum in Davos, becoming one of the first countries in the world to introduce AI governance principles. This governance framework provides detailed and immediately enforceable guidance for private organizations to address important ethical and governance issues when deploying AI solutions. It is worth noting that Singapore is constantly updating this legal framework, with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) announcing the Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI on May 30, 2024. Compared to Singapore, Vietnam still needs time to complete a comprehensive governance framework. However, Vietnam's advantage is that it can learn from the experiences of previous countries, avoiding "potholes" in the policy-making process. In particular, Vietnam's statutory legal culture may be more suited to establishing clear rules for AI than case law systems.

"AI in law is not a story of the distant future, but a reality that needs to be prepared for today," Dr. Duong Van Thinh, an expert at AI & Data Center, emphasized.
According to him, the biggest opportunity for AI in the Vietnamese legal field is the ability to "democratize" access to the law. "Instead of only legal experts being able to understand complex documents, AI can transform them into everyday language, helping people clearly understand their rights and obligations."
However, Dr. Thinh also warned about the risks. "The biggest issue is not technical capabilities, but ensuring the transparency and explainability of AI. When an AI system suggests a legal decision, we need to understand 'why' it came to that conclusion."
Instead of using terms like "AI ethics" or "data privacy", he suggested that Vietnam should develop its own vocabulary suitable for its national legal culture: "technology ethics" instead of AI ethics, "personal information security" instead of data privacy, and "legal support technology" instead of legal tech. "The most important thing is to remember that AI is just a support tool, it cannot replace human intelligence and experience in important legal decisions," Dr. Thinh concluded.