The Democrat Party has called on the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) to review its proposed TH-AI Passport project, citing concerns over transparency, procurement practices and value for money.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, the party's leader, said the Democrats had examined the project through their government-monitoring platform, Song Rat (Watch the State), and identified what they considered a high risk of irregularities.
He said Pitakdech Dechdecho, chairman of the House Committee on Anti-Money Laundering and Narcotics Suppression, is preparing to summon various agencies to provide further explanations about the project.
The party will continue monitoring the initiative and other technology-related government projects that use specific procurement methods rather than open bidding, he said.
"Technology procurement still faces significant limitations in competitive tendering," Mr Abhisit said. "We need to examine the root causes and the objectives behind these projects. We hope that after parliamentary scrutiny and growing public awareness, the responsible agencies will address any irregularities and ensure public funds are used more efficiently."
He said many government projects continue to face questions about their necessity and readiness for implementation.
The TH-AI Passport project, proposed by the DES Ministry, has a budget of 1.6 billion baht and aims to provide access to 12 artificial intelligence models for up to five million Thais over one year.
The initiative would offer users access to professional-grade AI tools through a centralised platform integrating services from multiple providers. The government says the project is intended to raise Thailand's AI adoption rate to about 23%, above the global benchmark of 16.3%. Officials estimate the cost at 324 baht per person a year, or about 27 baht a month.
The ministry said Thailand's AI adoption rate stands at 10.7%, behind regional peers such as Singapore, with an AI diffusion rate of 60.9%, and Vietnam, at 23.5%. Many countries have introduced policies to expand public access to AI technologies, it added.
It cited Singapore's support for premium AI tools and AI literacy programmes, which reportedly involve funding of more than 27 billion baht, or about 900 baht per person annually.
Under the TH-AI Passport initiative, the government expects to increase the number of AI users in Thailand by five million while promoting practical AI skills through a "Learn to Earn" model.
The programme will include upskilling courses developed in collaboration with major technology companies, including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.
The ministry said participating AI providers would not be allowed to use user data to train AI models.
