What does it mean to be Thai? A cry for an Open, AI-augmented Workforce
We are running out of workers and we’re not trying hard enough to attract the ones we need
The other day, I got a message from an old classmate—an exceptional roboticist who relocated to Silicon Valley. He confessed that despite craving Thai food and missing family, he simply could not justify coming back. Why? “There’s no clear path for me to continue my work in Bangkok,” he said. “Plus, they make it complicated for my foreign colleagues to get work permits and other things like Rule of Law and PM are not what I want for my kids.” His words stung. They also exposed a painful truth: We are running out of workers and we’re not trying hard enough to attract the ones we need.
Economies grow because people innovate, not because we move money from left to right. But where are these people? Thailand is facing an unrelenting demographic storm. Our birth rates have plummeted; the workforce is shrinking; youth unemployment is rising. Did you know that more than 15,000 Thais died prematurely from traffic accidents every single year for at least the past decade? Last year, when my AI agent startup “filled” data analyst and accountant roles at a high-growth SME, the staff and HR were overjoyed instead of fearing automation. These positions had been vacant for almost a year. That’s how dire our labour market situation is: there’s nobody for AI to even replace.
What if “Thai” is less about the accident of birth and more about who’s willing to invest their skills, creativity and heart in our nation?
Our cultural identity doesn’t have to weaken if we invite newcomers in; it can evolve. Thailand prides itself on legendary hospitality, but ironically, it still places bureaucratic barriers around foreigners who want to live, work and innovate here. My colleague, born to a Thai mother, had to fly here multiple times for citizenship because the website lacked key document requirements. It is somehow more difficult for high-skilled workers to be Thai. I am not asking for a complete national rebrand, but an organised effort to make Thai citizenship a “national product” that we manage strategically with care.
Let’s make it radically easy for the people we desperately need—founders, engineers, educators, developers, biotech researchers, food scientists—to become Thai. Imagine a fast-track process with streamlined visa and a direct path to residency or citizenship. Call it the “Thailand Global Talent” initiative. If this sounds like privilege, it is and it will be the key to innovation and growth.
When we design incentives to protect our labour from competition, don’t forget that the jobs that we need the most don’t even have enough workers. Also, AGI is coming in less than a decade. Truth is, the majority of jobs today will be gone. But our workers must survive and evolve into new roles. Where will these new opportunities come from? Companies that compete with innovation and AI. They need the best talents the world can offer and we don’t have enough, so support them with an Open Workforce whether in flesh or in GPUs.
Do not be proud of our 1% unemployment rate. That is an illusion. We need to shed unproductive jobs, help our talents find new opportunities while nurturing labour in transition. So, invest heavily in public goods as basic as clean air and safety.
While other nations are chasing global talents, global talents are chasing Thailand for its charms. Old wine or no wine in new bottles won’t get us anywhere. New wine is begging for us to harvest. It’s not rocket science. Take action before it’s too late.
Napat Jatusripitak
Special to The Nation
(Napat Jatusripitak is MD of ThailandFuture and CEO of ViaLink)
