The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Southeast Asia: The Case of Thailand

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been reshaping society in unanticipated ways. From unlocking our cellphones to our daily activities, online shopping, sophisticated car dashboards, and autonomous robotics, technology permeates every aspect of our lives (Venkataraman, 2021). Nowadays, AI is considered a driver of productivity and economic progress. By evaluating enormous volumes of data, it may enhance the decision-making process and raise the efficiency of operations. It may also generate new goods and services, markets, and industries, thus increasing consumer demand and generating new revenue streams. Nevertheless, AI may have a profoundly disruptive influence on the economy and society. Some caution that it may result in the formation of super-firms—centres of wealth and knowledge—that would be damaging to the economy as a whole. This tendency may have far-reaching ramifications for the job economy. (Analytics Insight, 2021).

According to the research from Kearney, it was found that Southeast Asia is still in the early stages of AI adoption. Regional governments have started to recognize how important AI is to their economies. For instance, Singapore launched its National AI Strategy in 2019, and Malaysia and Indonesia are expected to follow suit this year. In addition, Malaysia already announced a $1 billion project to build its first AI park—a partnership between a local company, G3 Global, and China’s SenseTime and China Harbour Engineering (Chua & Dobberstein, 2020). Nevertheless, according to the International Federation of Robotics, Thailand has the most industrial robots in operation among the ten nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2019, with approximately 3,000 units. Thailand's robotics and artificial intelligence skills are increasing quickly as a result of its relevance to global supply chains and the improvements pushed by the coronavirus outbreak. The Thai government has incorporated AI into its National Development Plan, and the Thailand 4.0 national policy pays a lot of attention to artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and digital industries. Additionally, the 20-year plan of Thailand seeks to raise the level of development and competitiveness of the kingdom by stressing green and sustainable growth and advanced technologies (Royal Thai Embassy, 2022).

In times of accelerating change, rising complexity, and extreme unpredictability, the government must be prepared for the unexpected circumstances. Since AI has a significant influence on digital transactions and Thailand's economic growth, the Thai government must foresee future advancements, particularly in the AI industry (Christopher, 2018). At this point, the technique of foresight was employed to analyze the future of AI in Thailand. Strategic foresight is a field that has existed for decades and enables us to construct useful perspectives on alternative futures and possibilities. Through this approach, organizations are better prepared for possible dangers and able to capitalize on possibilities that were previously unknown (European Commission, 2022). While no one can accurately forecast the future, foresight enables us to mine the external world for patterns and use those insights to develop maps of the evolving terrain. These well-researched future maps enable us to evaluate our existing approach, produce game-changing innovations, and effect transformational change. In addition, strategic foresight is required anytime there is a high degree of unpredictability around future developments. To demonstrate the argument, foresight utilizes a range of techniques, including scanning the horizon for developing changes, assessing megatrends, recognizing weak signals, and producing various scenarios, to study and reveal future situations. The foresight approach would enable the government to identify possibilities and obstacles, and the Thai government would finally be able to suggest appropriate AI-related policies.