KBTG Techtopia projects Thailand as destination for frontier technologies

The event, organised by Kasikorn Business-Technology Group (KBTG), helped trigger thought-provoking and skill-awakening discussions on technology, focusing on the current popular topic: Artificial Intelligence (AI), according to a statement released by the company on Wednesday.

KBTG Group chairman Ruangroj Poonpol said that this year's Techtopia built upon last year's success but at a much larger scale by moving the venue from the company's headquarters to Samyan Mitrtown, a mixed-use property in Bangkok.

"On July 18, we transformed the entire fifth floor into a space where attendees could immerse themselves in emerging technologies and meaningful conversations. Although our primary focus is still AI, we chose to dive deeper beneath the trends, addressing more pressing matters as discussed on the global stage like risk management, national strategy, and AI ethics," he said.

He emphasised that, contrary to popular beliefs, AI would not reduce or replace human roles. On the contrary, human significance will only increase moving forward, serving as the conductor of the orchestra.

"Always bring AI to the table but keep humans in the room," he said.

With this year's theme being "A Blast From the Future", not only were the topics curated to showcase new possibilities that near-future technologies can unlock, both positive and negative, KBTG also invited Thai policymakers and representatives from global institutions to share their action plans and paint visions of tomorrow together, the statement said.

One of the key speakers was Dr Andrew Ng, the managing general partner of AI Fund, founder of DeepLearning.AI, co-founder of Coursera, and named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people in AI.

In his keynote, Ng explained how AI is rapidly evolving into general-purpose technology, likening it to electricity. With new opportunities came risks, though he argued that the risks of AI lie in the application, not the technology itself. He further pointed out areas in which AI could be applied in Thailand, namely tourism, healthcare, and agriculture.

Ng's appearance at KBTG Techtopia came after the strategic partnership announcement between AI Fund and KXVC, KBTG's venture capital arm, aiming to build new AI startups and strengthen connections between their robust ecosystems. During his visit, KBTG and Ng formed two additional partnerships to drive AI education in Thailand:

• KBTG, DeepLearning.AI and the Artificial Intelligence Association of Thailand will create KBTG.AI Kampus program for developing Thai AI talents
• KBTG, AI Fund, and Equitable Education Fund (EEF) will explore AI technology solutions to help improve Thailand's youth education system.

What differentiated this year's conference was the variety of topics.

Not limiting the subjects to AI, KBTG Techtopia touched on other emerging techs and trends, from machine learning blockchain, Web3, quantum computing, cybersecurity, ESG and many more, through the eyes of industry experts like Microsoft, AWS, Google Cloud, IBM, and Cisco.

Additionally, KBTG collaborated with “The Secret Sauce”, a popular Thai podcast, to produce a half-day session featuring remarkable innovations and business cases driven by Thais. This session showcased the country's true potential in the tech landscape.

The conference offered three stages, six workshops, and an innovation product exhibition zone. This zone showcased cutting-edge solutions by KBTG and partners, including Kasikorn Vision Information Technology (K-Tech), KBTG's China-based office whose representatives flew in from Shenzhen for the event.

Supporting AI literacy and growth
In line with KBTG's mission to promote AI literacy and foster AI development, all proceeds from ticket sales after expenses will be allocated to the Artificial Intelligence Association of Thailand, the company said.

These funds will support the development of OpenThaiGPT, a project aimed at enhancing the efficiency and usability of the Thai large language model. KBTG successfully sold out all early-bird tickets, raising a total of 681,000 baht for the project. Revenue from rerun ticket sales is expected to further contribute to this amount.

During his closing speech, Ruangroj pointed out that through KBTG Techtopia, the company hopes to show the world that KBTG is a tech powerhouse of Southeast Asia and that Thailand is the destination for frontier technologies.

"Having brought prominent figures, such as Ng, to inspire thousands of people in Thailand, KBTG Techtopia has proven itself as the place to be for all tech enthusiasts. Next year is going to be even more amazing and we cannot wait to take everyone on an exploration once more," he said.