The government has pledged to gather more input before proceeding with its 1.6-billion-baht TH-AI Passport project, which has drawn intense scrutiny focused on transparency, value for money and data privacy.
Chaichanok Chidchob, the Digital Economy and Society (DES) minister, said on Tuesday that he had been closely monitoring the feedback about the project, which is intended to help Thailand remain competitive in the global artificial intelligence race.
The ministry has proposed to spend 1.6 billion baht to procure bulk subscriptions to as many as 12 AI models to provide up to 5 million Thais with access to premium AI platforms for one year, funded through the ministry’s DE Fund.
The cost works out to 27 baht a month, compared with 700 to 1,000 baht a month for subscriptions to pro-level AI platforms, the ministry has said.
Mr Chaichanok said the comments made in the House of Representatives and elsewhere were constructive, adding that ministry officials would compile all the information and recommendations for use in further developing the project.
Asked whether the terms of reference would be revised, Mr Chaichanok said all suggestions that could improve the project and maximise its benefits would be taken into consideration.
People’s Party MP Rukchanok Srinork on Monday urged Mr Chaichanok Chidchob to halt the project pending a closer look at issues including the rapid selection of a contractor.
She has alleged that the project’s terms of reference were designed to favour a specific bidder and raised concerns about links between the company involved and previous government contracts.
The winning bidder was the TH Consortium, consisting of Turnkey Communication Services Plc, a Thai ICT engineering solutions and services specialist, and Human Intelligence Co Ltd, a joint venture between Thai and Hong Kong investors, which is building digital education infrastructure in Thailand.
People’s Party list-MP Pawoot Pongvitayapanu on Tuesday questioned whether the TH-AI Passport was driven by genuine public demand for AI services or by the availability of the DE fund supported by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).
Patchara Anuntasilpa, permanent secretary of the DE Ministry, has said that the DE Fund is outside of the regular state budget, meaning the project does not have to be submitted to the cabinet for approval.
Mr Pawoot said the terms of reference did not explain how the project would benefit entrepreneurs, students or researchers. Nor did it include any supporting data showing demand among those groups.
Capacity questions
While the project proposes providing access to eight AI models, it does not specify clear usage limits and could lead to additional spending in the future, he said.
According to Mr Pawoot, the capacity of the system is not particularly high for a nationwide project and the system could face delays or crashed if a large number of users access it simultaneously.
The MP also compared the TH-AI Passport project with the OKMD AI Playground platform created by the Office of Knowledge Management and Development at a reported cost of 2.4 million baht. It allows users to access several leading AI tools through a single website without having to register separately with multiple providers, he said.
He called on the government to temporarily suspend the project and review its details, saying the TH-AI Passport appears to have been designed to use up budget funds rather than support public demand.
“I support efforts to expand public access to AI, but I don’t support implementing the project in this manner,” he said.
