Spreading historical values ​​in the digital age.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, with its rapid development of technology and artificial intelligence (AI), is opening up new ways to access, preserve, explore, and disseminate the positive values ​​of history. At the same time, it deepens national pride and urges every Vietnamese person today to live and contribute more to the development of the country.

Continuing the present from the lessons of the past.

The August Revolution of 1945 was a great historical turning point, ushering in an era of national independence linked with socialism for the Vietnamese people. Eighty-one years have passed, but the valuable lessons from this historical event remain relevant, serving as a driving force and source of inspiration for succeeding generations in building and defending the nation.

According to writer Ngo Thao, the August Revolution left behind a system of values ​​with contemporary significance, continuing to guide generations today. In the digital age, that spirit of the August Revolution is being placed in a new context, with the new requirement of mastering knowledge and technology—competitive advantages among nations in the era of global integration and the development of a knowledge-based economy. To progress quickly and sustainably, Vietnam must be a technologically self-reliant nation. We must not only stop at using technologies produced by other countries, but must gradually master data, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure.

According to the writer, the Vietnamese people's unwavering aspiration to learn, research, innovate, and master new technologies today is the most profound expression of the spirit of independence and self-reliance that our ancestors bequeathed from the historical events of the 1945 autumn revolution.

Major General and writer Nguyen Hong Thai, former Deputy Director of the Department of Strategic Science and Public Security History, believes that another important historical lesson from the August Revolution is the spirit of national unity and the ability to gather the strength of the people.

In the age of technology, that spirit is manifested in the expansion and construction of new creative networks. In these networks, people from all walks of life, from intellectuals to laborers, technology companies, artists, and content creators, participate in creative ecosystems. When technology is widely used by the public to disseminate historical values, it means history has another path to reach future generations.

A digitized historical document will no longer be confined to storage cabinets but can be transformed into online lessons, short films, podcasts, infographics, educational games, or vibrant digital art products, helping young people better understand, love, and appreciate the past, and live meaningful lives in the present.

The lesson of the August Revolution's ability to recognize and seize opportunities is worth recalling for continued reflection in the age of AI. Looking back at the historic autumn of 1945, the correct identification of opportunities and decisive action by revolutionary leaders created a historical turning point, changing the destiny of the nation and transforming Vietnam from a slave country into an independent and self-governing nation.

Now, AI and digital transformation are opening up new opportunities for Vietnam, opportunities to develop science, technology, cultural industries, and a knowledge-based economy. The lessons of the past, applied to the new era, are about seizing opportunities to master technology, and lifting the country's economy out of the middle-income trap and technological backwardness.

The Government's Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation Development until 2030, issued in 2022, demonstrates the vision of the Party and State in guiding national development in the digital age.

Building a digital history ecosystem.

Dr. Tran Kim Ba (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) argues that technology and AI applications are an indispensable part of human life. These are useful tools capable of transforming vast archives of historical documents into engaging interactive spaces, allowing people to dialogue with history in a vivid way.

Previously, we primarily acquired historical knowledge through textbooks and rote memorization. Now, AI can support these methods by asking questions, exploring, comparing sources, and inferring. When built on reliable data sources, AI can help people search for information, connect events, and personalize their historical learning needs. When the content delivered is no longer confined to a rigid format but becomes a unique journey of discovery, history becomes more interesting, engaging, and easier to understand.

Beyond AI, technologies such as 3D, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) are opening up possibilities to make learning history a "historical experience" through digital maps, images, digital audio, and three-dimensional spaces. These are methods of communication that many museums have applied in recent years, attracting the attention of visitors. Adding another approach to learning history means another option for history to become an integral part of the spiritual life of Vietnamese people, especially the younger generation.

While assessing the impact of technology on the dissemination of historical values, we must not overlook the issue of ensuring information and data security. Ultimately, technology can change the way history is communicated in a more diverse, powerful, and engaging way, but for it to be truly effective, it must be based on an accurate and standardized data system.

Dr. Rơ Đăm Thị Bích Ngọc (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) argues that the "technological innovation" element in disseminating historical values ​​should not be understood as giving technological tools the right to arbitrarily create history. AI can create vivid historical images, sounds, and stories, but it must be based on reliable data, ensuring the authenticity of historical sources.

Encouraging people, especially the younger generation, to use AI and technology platforms to create content and spread historical lessons and values ​​needs to be accompanied by clear verification mechanisms that specifically distinguish between original documents and reconstructed content.

No one has the right to use content creation technology as a pretext to distort, misrepresent, or alter the perception of historical events and values. This is not only a technical requirement, but also a matter of responsibility for each individual and organization in preserving the memory and protecting the historical truth of the nation.

We need to build a digital historical ecosystem where data is standardized, providing a foundation for people to access and create content. This will gradually create a cycle from preservation, digitization, exploration, understanding, experience, to creation and dissemination of values.

When presented in diverse contexts, the nation's proud past continues to hold significance in the present, reminding and inspiring today's generation to write new chapters in the journey of building, protecting, and developing the country.

PV