True Corporation CEO Issues Stark Warning: Adapt or Be Left Behind in the AI Era
True CEO Sigve Brekke warns speed is survival in the AI age, urging Thailand to use strong 5G infrastructure for industry, not just consumption
- True Corporation CEO Sigve Brekke warns that AI is a "silent trap" and businesses that hesitate to adopt it will find it "too late to return to competition."
- He cautions that despite strong 5G infrastructure, Thailand risks being left behind as a "technology consumer" rather than an "innovation creator" due to low industrial and corporate adoption.
- The CEO predicts AI will reshape the labor market by replacing millions of jobs, making continuous reskilling and lifelong learning essential for the workforce to adapt.
- Brekke advises businesses to follow a "Digital Survival Code" by acting boldly and being adaptive, while urging the government to accelerate the digital economy.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents both a massive opportunity and a "silent trap" that risks swallowing organisations unable to adapt, according to Sigve Brekke, CEO of True Corporation and head of the Telecom and Digital Business at Charoen Pokphand Group.
Speaking at the "Thailand Economic Outlook 2026: Out of the Trap" forum, Brekke argued that the speed of technological change—illustrated by ChatGPT reaching 100 million users in two months compared to the internet's seven years—means speed is the ultimate determinant of success or failure.
“AI is both an opportunity and a trap. If an organisation hesitates to start, one day it will realise it is too late to return to competition,” he stated.
The CEO highlighted that technology, which includes data processing, software, and e-commerce, has been the main engine of global economic growth. The ongoing shift to AI demands businesses urgently "recode" their strategies.
The Thai Digital Gap
Despite Thailand boasting one of the strongest digital infrastructures in ASEAN, with 5G coverage for over 99% of the population, Brekke criticised the country’s low industrial utilisation of this network.
He warned that if 5G is merely used for faster internet speeds and not to drive manufacturing or service sectors, the country risks becoming just a "technology consumer," not an "innovation creator."
This is despite Asia being the fastest-growing region for AI usage, with 75% of Thai internet users engaging with the technology—mostly at the consumer level, leaving a "structural gap" in corporate and government adoption.
Labour and Social Traps
Brekke cautioned that AI will fundamentally reshape the labour market, predicting that 92 million jobs will be replaced globally, while 170 million new ones will be created.
These new roles will demand specialist digital and data skills, making lifelong learning and continuous reskilling essential for survival in the modern workplace.
Furthermore, AI carries a “social trap.” Algorithmic polarisation—where social media only feeds users content they want to see—risks creating narrow information worlds that foster severe social division.
Three-Point Survival Code
The government, Brekke argued, must shift its role from a regulator to an accelerator of the digital economy by investing in education and pushing innovation under the concept of "AI for All."
He also stressed the urgent need to establish an AI governance framework, data organisation, and domestic data storage policies.
He concluded by offering the "Digital Survival Code" for Thai businesses:
Act Bold: Dare to make decisions, even with incomplete information.
Be Adaptive: Continuously adjust to every situation.
Align as One: Unite everyone in the organisation.
"In the AI era," he concluded, "delay is not just a missed opportunity, but defeat before the game even begins."
—Reported by Parnchatra Sinsuk, Krungthep Turakij.
