Thailand has announced the formation of an AI Governance Practice Centre (AIGPC) and major investments to become a regional hub for ethical AI.

The AIGPC will focus on sharing best practices, training, and fostering collaboration across sectors to address ethical concerns in AI, including deepfakes and misinformation.

The government has allocated over US$15.4 billion for core infrastructure related to AI development.

Additionally, it has invested US$61 million in an open-source AI platform and US$150 million for targeted impact in key industries.

The National AI Committee is also working on talent development, aiming to train 90,000 professionals and 50,000 developers.

🔗 Source: Nation Thailand

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Thailand’s AI ambitions face significant regional competition and adoption hurdles

Despite Thailand’s substantial investment commitments, the country is playing catch-up in the ASEAN AI landscape, with historical adoption rates lagging behind regional competitors.

Thailand had only a 17.1% AI adoption rate in 2018, significantly trailing Indonesia’s 24.6%, highlighting a regional gap that persists today 1.

Current data shows only 18% of Thai businesses have successfully implemented AI, while 73% remain in the consideration phase, primarily due to data quality concerns 2.

Thailand’s projected AI market growth to 130 billion baht by 2030 (at 18% CAGR from 48 billion baht in 2024) represents significant potential but requires overcoming persistent adoption barriers 2.

The country faces stiff competition in a region where AI could add up to USD 950 billion to ASEAN’s GDP by 2030, with venture capital currently heavily concentrated in Singapore 3.

2️⃣ Critical infrastructure and talent gaps threaten Thailand’s AI implementation timeline

Thailand’s ambitious targets for AI talent development (aiming for 10 million users, 90,000 professionals, and 50,000 developers) face significant workforce shortages in specialized areas like data science and machine learning.

The country’s 2022 National AI Plan identified the need to increase the AI workforce by 30,000 individuals, requiring substantial investments in training programs 4.