PUBLISHED : 22 Dec 2023 at 04:00
Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a more important role in 2024, according to a panel at an event held at the British Club in Bangkok yesterday.
The British Council hosted the event, which included five panellists from different sectors who discussed challenges and trends to watch for next year.
Assistant Professor Ake Pattaratanakun of Chulalongkorn Business School said that improvements in AI, especially in generative AI, are not existential threats to society.
“Instead of worrying about AI taking our jobs, we should see AI as a tool we can work with,” she said.
With the rise of ChatGPT, Dall-E and Midjourney, AI technology has become readily accessible, so people ought to understand the new tools that are now available, she said.
Jantima Hiraga, Country Manager for Pearson Education in Thailand, also emphasised the increasing role of technology and AI in education and in the workplace. She also raised concerns regarding AI ethics, highlighting both the responsible use of AI technology and biases which may be inherent in an AI’s processes.
Ms Jantima said that the AI policy landscape in Thailand is limited and noted that the European Union had just signed an AI Act into law. AI governance is needed to mitigate risks, she said.
Wit Sittivaekin, a prominent media figure, said Thailand is a regional hub and will benefit from global trends of increased investment in electric vehicles (EVs).
He said that investment in EVs, especially from Chinese firms, will greatly benefit Thailand, which he sees as a small and open economy.
Asst Prof Romyen Kosaikanont, an economics lecturer at Mae Fah Luang University and a leading expert in gender equality, highlighted sustainable development as something Thailand needs to work on in 2024.
Although progress has been made on this front, she says that the education system needs to transform to ensure flexible learning pathways and prepare students for modern work environments.
Asst Prof Ake said he remained sceptical about economic growth next year, seeing increasing fuel and fertiliser prices as a challenge.
He also predicts interest rate hikes from both the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and believes that central banks across the world will adopt a more hawkish stance to curb inflation in 2024.