Currently, with the development of cyberspace, there is a trend of watching AI-generated films – mainly short series created with AI support, each episode lasting 1-3 minutes, with a series potentially spanning dozens to hundreds of episodes. The content often revolves around familiar motifs such as CEO-Cinderella, revenge, time travel, etc., with each episode ending with a plot twist that makes viewers want to keep watching. Some people get so engrossed that they watch dozens of episodes, staying up until 1-2 am, even becoming obsessed with characters who don't exist in real life.
Associate Professor Nguyen Van Tuan - President of the Vietnam Psychiatric Association, Director of the Institute of Mental Health (Bach Mai Hospital) shared his insights with a reporter from VietnamPlus online newspaper to help individuals protect their mental health, avoid addiction to the internet, and prevent becoming engrossed in AI-generated short films.
It is necessary to understand the mechanisms of addiction.
- Doctor, nowadays people use the internet a lot, watching short films or clips online, much of which is AI-generated content. Do you think this could easily create an addiction among people online?
Associate Professor Nguyen Van Tuan: Short clips or films can be created not only by AI but also by any human being, for example, short clips for sales, advertisements, or many other types of content. From a professional perspective, when evaluating short clips or films, we can understand that in modern life, many people have limited time, so concise information containing the content they want is a real need. This isn't a unique characteristic of AI; if AI has these capabilities, it's because it learns from humans and responds to user needs.
These short films are created not only by AI but also by humans. However, AI has more automation capabilities. For example, if a person is using a smart device and following a particular stream of content or topic, the AI will often automatically bring up similar content.
However, if we look at it from the perspective of addiction, we need to consider that addiction has its own mechanisms. Each person's brain has a region called the reward center – a network of neural structures responsible for processing feelings of excitement, pleasure, motivation, and reinforcing behavior.
When people experience things that bring them pleasure or enjoyment, these areas release a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which connects with other areas, increasing excitement and satisfaction. Dopamine signals to the brain that this is a good "reward," something to remember and motivates us to repeat the behavior in the future.
For behaviors to become addictive, they must be repeated and intensified. That's the mechanism of addiction. However, in reality, not everyone becomes addicted. There are contributing factors, such as genetics or genes that make people more sensitive to various issues. In life, there are many different behaviors... some people are easily addicted, others are less so. We can learn about common types of addiction such as: gambling addiction, shopping addiction, internet addiction...
To determine if someone is addicted to a particular behavior, it needs to be repeated and intensified. Another factor to consider is the environment; the individual's vulnerability and their level of coping with different circumstances and living environments must also be taken into account.
- Nowadays, not only AI-powered films but also many online content features very fast-paced plots. Many people wonder if this could be the cause of "brain fog"—a state where the brain's attention is distracted and unfocused due to constantly receiving rapid stimuli from the internet and digital devices.
Associate Professor Nguyen Van Tuan: "The 'popcorn brain' is a new term. To understand this, we must understand the root of the memory process, which is each person's recognition. Memory recognizes information through the senses such as sight, hearing, and emotion... thereby creating what is called memory. Then comes recall; when a person wants to talk about something related to a particular issue, the mind will recall it."
For effective information retention, the recipient's knowledge and understanding must be complete and thorough for storage. Therefore, each type of information requires a sufficiently long period of time for processing and storage. Then, when needed, the memory will filter and retrieve the information. These are the steps in the memory process.
However, nowadays, there are cases where a person receives information as if they've just finished talking about one thing and immediately move on to another, scattering across many topics, or doing so continuously, preventing their mind from having enough time to fully process it. The brain needs sufficient time to process information effectively. A person with a fast processing ability will process information quickly, while a slower processor will need an appropriate amount of time.
However, if information is overwhelming and constantly changing rapidly, it becomes difficult for each individual to retain, and even storage is affected, resulting in poor retention. Therefore, it's not that the brain is malfunctioning in any way, but rather that the amount of information received is too much and too overwhelming, but it must be appropriate to each person's ability, capacity, and level of memory and information processing.
-Online content is very diverse these days. Often, it includes information that deviates from ethical standards, or people invent stories with illogical, pointless, and vague situations, created in an inaccurate way. According to the doctor, do these inaccurate events or fabricated contents affect ethical standards or people's perceptions?
Associate Professor Nguyen Van Tuan: In each person's brain, there is an area called the left lobe. The left lobe controls information and evaluates whether behaviors are appropriate or not, depending on each person's level of perception. This left lobe is usually seen in adults who have fully developed. Therefore, children or adolescents do not yet have the capacity and understanding to fully control all information. That's why we see laws or evidence specifying a certain age at which research and work can be done.
Because the brain of an immature person has weak control over that area, it is easily distracted or manipulated. This is the scientific basis for the left lobe's control in performing that function.
Preventive measures for vulnerable individuals
-With the current development of cyberspace, encompassing not only AI films but many other topics, what advice do you have for adults, especially developing children, on how to utilize the benefits of the internet while maintaining a degree of self-control?
Associate Professor Nguyen Van Tuan: Everyone needs to understand the mechanisms of addiction to know how to prevent it. In modern life, everyone has limited time. Each person's mental health is different. In the online space, productive activities – such as learning to gain knowledge, working, or building positive relationships – are considered productive and are better for one's brain health than non-productive activities.
We need to be aware of the content and issues that are not helpful or productive in order to prevent addiction. The most important thing is the ability of each individual or group to control themselves. This is especially true for children or adolescents, or even adults with vulnerable psychological states… we need to categorize them to avoid them. For these vulnerable individuals, we need both preventative measures and a balanced approach that is appropriate.
As we can see, the digital environment, supported by AI, offers many advantages to people. However, as people immerse themselves in it, each individual must plan how to use it appropriately, taking into account their own capacity and mental health. Furthermore, it still depends on each individual to find suitable prevention and adjustment methods.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Associate Professor Nguyen Van Tuan.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/du-phong-suc-khoe-va-bao-ve-tam-ly-moi-nguoi-truoc-phim-ngan-ai-tren-moi-truong-mang-post1139825.vnp
