BANGKOK: Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Wednesday (Aug 19) backed the TH-AI Passport programme as advance registration opened, while Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob maintained that the scheme had been implemented lawfully and was ready for scrutiny over its transparency.
Chaichanok also expressed confidence that registrations would reach the programme’s ceiling of five million users after 307,425 people signed up within the first half of the opening day.
The programme is scheduled for an official launch event on Aug 28, followed by the start of public access on Aug 31.
Speaking in Canberra at 5.40pm local time, three hours ahead of Thailand, Anutin described TH-AI Passport as a way to help Thai people keep pace with rapidly changing artificial-intelligence technology and prepare for its growing role in education, business and employment. He was in Australia on an official visit from Aug 17–20.
Anutin said the present government had not created the initiative entirely from scratch. It had instead revived and expanded a project developed under a previous administration, adding platforms and application channels to broaden public access to AI.
The original July launch was delayed by more than a month while additional user benefits were negotiated and the terms of reference, or TOR, were revised. Anutin credited Chaichanok with improving the terms to maximise benefits for the public.
Anutin said the government’s upskilling and reskilling policies were intended to prepare Thai workers for the expanding role of AI.
The programme primarily targets school and university students, start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, giving them access to AI applications and platforms that Anutin described as more stable than free services carrying usage restrictions or advertising.
He argued that broader access would help users improve their earning potential and strengthen Thailand’s competitiveness.
Asked about former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s warning that AI could threaten Thailand’s labour market, Anutin said the concern demonstrated why the government needed to develop people’s skills before technology displaced parts of the workforce.
Thaksin had warned that AI could rapidly change employment structures, particularly entry-level positions, and that Thailand needed to prepare workers with skills suited to a changing labour market.
Anutin said labour should no longer be understood as physical work alone. Employees who relied on “brainpower” also needed access to technology that could improve their productivity.
“The government’s TH-AI Passport is a concrete response to the concern raised by Thaksin,” Anutin said.
“We want Thai people to gain the widest possible access to AI, with fewer barriers, so they can strengthen their competitiveness and develop their capabilities through the most advanced technology available.”
He also pointed to the first-day registration figures in response to criticism that the programme might offer little practical value, arguing that strong public interest showed that people saw potential benefits in the scheme.
Chaichanok rejected reports that the main TH-AI Passport system had collapsed during the first morning of registration.
He said the core platform continued to operate normally, while minor difficulties occurred on the ThaID identity-verification system because large numbers of people attempted to use it simultaneously.
The minister advised the public to complete registration through the Thang Rath government application, which he said offered a more convenient route while the ThaID congestion was addressed. The Digital Government Development Agency describes Thang Rath as a central platform connecting users with online public services.
Chaichanok called the 307,425 registrations recorded by the middle of the day an encouraging start. The ministry initially aimed to attract several million registrations before access begins, while the programme itself has a maximum allocation of 5 million users.
Chaichanok also addressed questions over why the registration platform used a.net domain rather than the.go.th suffix normally associated with Thai government websites.
He maintained that the choice was not an error and complied with the TOR and the project contract. The domain had been leased under conditions established from the outset, and the technical team had prepared the supporting systems accordingly.
The minister said citizens’ data would continue to be stored in Thailand, although requests sent to AI models would be processed outside the country as part of the normal operation of international AI services.
He added that contractual conditions prohibited service providers from retaining users’ information or using it to train machine-learning models. These protections made the scheme safer than ordinary consumer subscriptions, he argued.
Chaichanok said the formal launch event on August 28 would include educational and public-awareness activities organised with private-sector participants.
The event would be open to all sides, including opposition representatives, before the service becomes available for use on Aug 31.
Addressing the prospect of opposition parties raising the project in Parliament, Anutin said the government was prepared to explain every stage and remained confident that Chaichanok could answer questions about its implementation.
Chaichanok said he was not concerned by complaints to the National Anti-Corruption Commission or requests from parliamentary committees for further explanations. He maintained that the programme served the public interest and had been carried out in accordance with the law.
Civil servants and officials directly involved in the project had already attended hearings when summoned under the relevant law, he said. Whether he appeared personally at future hearings would depend on his responsibilities and schedule.
Access will be subject to the 5-million-user cap. Anyone granted an entitlement who fails to use it within the specified period will lose the place, allowing the system to transfer it to someone on the waiting list. – The Nation/ANN
