Thailand to promote AI literacy among citizens as it strives to become regional hub
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DE) wants to upskill and reskill Thai citizens in AI literacy as the country aims to establish itself as the AI technology hub of the Southeast Asian region, according to its minister Prasert Chantararuangthong.
Prasert said on Monday that to comply with the country’s national AI strategy and action plan for 2022-2027, the ministry is focusing on equipping the Thai workforce with high levels of proficiency in Artificial Intelligence technology (AI), calling them “AI Talent”.
He said the government would encourage local communities to utilise technology in their work and employ professionals to educate them on technological knowledge, together with setting up more technology centres in different areas. Hackathon events would also be organised to impart knowledge about AI to SMEs and the general public.
He added that government officials too would be upskilled and reskilled.
This initiative is among the seven strategies the government is planning to implement this year. The other initiatives include promoting digital security to combat scams and providing more I the way of free internet in public areas.
Thailand’s position shifted from 40th place in 2022 to 33rd in 2024, he said, vowing to put the kingdom in 30th place in 2026.
The technology industry is currently high on the government's priorities as evidenced by its efforts to secure business deals with several global tech firms.
In December, the Ministry and China’s giant telecom firm Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding on digital development aimed at supporting AI development, such as industry applications, ecosystem building, and talent cultivation.
Prasert said during the signing ceremony that he wanted to establish Thailand as an AI hub in the ASEAN region while introducing the “Cloud First” policy, which aims to use cloud technology to support the operation of digital government across all agencies.
Earlier, the government also signed an agreement with India’s CtrlS Datacentres to lease 25 rai of land in Chonburi’s Digital Park for 50 years as part of its 15-billion-baht investment to create a hyper-scale data centre in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
