Dù công nghệ phát triển đến đâu, ta vẫn đang và sẽ luôn luôn sống vì điều này! | GS. Po-shen Loh

Overview

Professor Po-shen Loh (Carnegie Mellon University) discusses how society—especially students and families—should respond to rapidly advancing AI. Throughout an interview with the EO Vietnam at the G-STAR Summit 2026, he argues that AI changes the “stability” landscape: there is no truly safe traditional path. Instead, people should build agency through problem-solving, small-scale entrepreneurship, continuous learning, and strong human connection.

Key Ideas

1) “No safe path” → stability means solving problems and creating value

• He challenges the belief that traditional careers and education tracks provide lasting security.
  • Even in the US, people can be laid off or fired midlife, so “stable paths” are unreliable.
• True safety comes from:
  • staying aware,
  • learning new ideas,
  • and surrounding yourself with others who think similarly.
• He reframes stability as:
  • solving real problems
  • and creating value rather than simply following a preset route or merely studying.

2) Small-scale entrepreneurship as a practical way to regain control

• Instead of chasing “big celebrity” success (e.g., Elon Musk), he encourages extremely small-scale entrepreneurship.
• Example: If someone can help farmers use technology to increase efficiency or production, farmers may pay in cash because the solution directly raises income.
• The core principle:
  • when you learn to solve problems people will pay for—even at small scale—you build confidence and resilience.

3) AI can help, but humans must retain direction and purpose

• He uses cautionary analogies:
  • if you want AI to “take care of you,” you’re like a “cow” being managed—fed and milked by others—so you risk losing control of your life.
• While AI may become very capable over time, he argues that human value includes:
  • inspiration,
  • identity,
  • and meaningful ways of relating to other people.
• For learning:
  • AI can accelerate study and technical tasks,
  • but the main failure he sees is students using AI to complete work without actually wanting to learn.

4) Career and education: adapt instead of assuming “old logic” still works

• He notes that AI breakthroughs (even in math) may reshape career clarity, but he discourages despair.
• Instead, people should:
  • stay current with the latest tools and ideas.
• For students unsure of their “competitive advantage,” he emphasizes deep understanding of the domain/application area—not merely trying to be exceptionally gifted.
• For engineering/technical paths (e.g., IC design/security), he expects AI to spread widely and become embedded in workflows—so the key is to evolve with the latest systems.

5) Learning mindset: be thoughtful, delight others, and reason independently

• His education philosophy centers on being “thoughtful”:
  • delighting people (including strangers),
  • and reasoning through your own thoughts.
• He argues that if students develop this orientation, they’ll keep learning naturally.
• He also highlights the importance of asking good questions—not just answering.
  • He demonstrates this by describing how he asks an AI model detailed questions to understand Vietnam’s industries and challenges.

6) University vs starting a startup: “it’s complicated”

• When asked whether to drop out to pursue a tech startup, he refuses one-size-fits-all advice.
• He recommends evaluating:
  • the tuition cost versus how long it takes to earn it back,
  • whether university offers a valuable network for finding co-founders,
  • and whether classes are dogmatic (lacking fresh thinking) versus useful later.
• He urges universities to build feedback loops:
  • if students repeatedly say classes aren’t useful, that signals an institutional problem.

7) Purpose and meaning in an AI world

• He reframes purpose:
  • historically, meaning often came from work being useful or needed.

• With AI potentially outpacing human contributions, he suggests purpose shifts toward:

  • making other people’s lives brighter rather than only producing tasks.

• He also discusses community and financial angles:

  • with friends aligned on a goal, you can take risks (start things) while having support if outcomes vary—similar to a “venture capital” approach among friends.

8) Human connection and long-term survival of humanity

• He argues that AI-era entrepreneurship and careers should be supported by strong networks of people who share missions and trust.
• He contrasts:
  • “solopreneurship” (mentally draining due to uncertainty)
  • with collaborative human networks.
• On AI’s long-term advantage versus humans:
  • humans uniquely care about the species continuing and choose values.
• He believes the key is installing a self-replicating “operating system” of values in humanity—so civilization lasts thousands of years.
• His final human-centered framework:
  • delight → connect → love

Presenters / Contributors

• Professor Po-shen Loh (guest interviewee)
• Phoenix (host, EO Vietnam channel)
• Kashri (co-host, EO Vietnam channel)
• EO Vietnam audience question submitters
  • Anonymous/identified in subtitles
  • One named: “Nen Doy Khan”
  • Plus an anonymous questioner