The government has defended its “TH AI Passport” project after criticism over a lack of transparency from opposition MP Rukchanok Srinork, saying it would lower AI access expenses from an estimated 36 billion baht to 1.6 billion baht through bulk procurement.
Deputy government spokeswoman Lalida Persvivatana said that while the government welcomed scrutiny of public spending, some criticisms showed a misunderstanding about the role of artificial intelligence in the modern economy.
The scheme proposes purchasing premium AI access for five million users over 12 months.
Ms Lalida rejected comparisons between the AI project and past government mobile application schemes, some of which have turned out to be costly flops.
Generative AI is not a “single-purpose app” but a “general-purpose technology” comparable to electricity or the internet in its transformative impact on society and the economy, she said.
“The TH AI Passport project is designed as a central platform integrating world-class AI tools in one place, in line with the government’s National Super App policy to reduce duplication and improve public access to digital services,” Ms Lalida said.
She said premium AI services currently cost 700 to 1,000 baht per month, placing them beyond the reach of many students, small businesses and ordinary citizens.
Expanding access to AI tools, she said, was a legitimate mission of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society Ministry and the Digital Development Fund under existing law.
The project is not a blanket giveaway but is intended to operate under a “Learn to Earn” model, Ms Lalida noted. Participants must complete AI training and skills development before receiving access to pro-level AI services. Unused accounts would be automatically reassigned to maximise efficiency.
The government said many countries are investing in AI access and digital workforce development because AI is increasingly viewed as essential economic infrastructure.
Ms Lalida added that if five million people purchased AI subscriptions independently, total costs could reach 36 billion baht annually. Through collective procurement, however, the government claims it can reduce that figure to about 1.6 billion baht.
She said the administration remained open to scrutiny but urged critics to consider the changing global technological landscape, warning Thailand could lose competitiveness if AI continued to be viewed merely as another government app initiative. (Story continues below)
Value for money?
Ms Rukchanok, who chairs the House budget scrutiny committee, raised concerns over the AI Passport project, questioning its transparency, value for money and data privacy implications.
In a social media post, she said AI had become the latest “ATM code” for government spending, comparing it to the proliferation of little-used state mobile applications in previous years.
She criticised the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society’s plan to use money from the DE Fund — financed partly by telecom spectrum auction revenues allocated by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission — to fund the project without parliamentary scrutiny.
The fund’s 2026 budget totals nearly 7.9 billion baht, with the TH AI Passport initiative representing its largest single project to date.
Ms Rukchanok questioned whether the project genuinely offered premium AI subscriptions, noting that the allocated budget would average only about 30 baht per person per month despite claims users could access up to 12 AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude and Grok.
She also questioned how the procurement process could have been completed within just 34 days, suggesting the winning consortium may have had advance knowledge of the project.
Ms Rukchanok further alleged that tender requirements specifying advertising screens in convenience stores could indicate “specification locking” favouring certain companies.
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