Leveraging technology, longevity tourism, and a new mindset seeking challenges are key for Thailand to reinvent its economic growth, according to the KBTG Techtopia 2025 seminar.
The country should also focus on “cross-cutting industries” by combining existing industry strengths with new trends, panellists said during the event.
“Thailand’s working-age population shrinks every year, acting as a drag on the economy. This is why our GDP growth is often the slowest rate in the region,” said Santitarn Sathirathai, a member of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee.
With limited domestic growth, entrepreneurs must seek opportunities outside the country and leverage technology more effectively to enhance productivity, he said.
The trend of globalisation is shifting from export-led growth towards services, such as tourism and emerging digital and service-based sectors, said Mr Santitarn.
As the world is mainly divided into US and China-led blocs, countries outside these blocs are seeking new alliances, making Asean a highly sought-after partner. This has created a strategic opportunity that Thailand must leverage, he said.
FOUR CLASSES
Mr Santitarn said there are four emerging classes in the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) era.
The first class — dubbed “AI landlords” — is the wealthiest, owning core AI models, computing power, and energy. This class earns “rent” from widespread AI use.
The second is “cyborgs” — referring to those who skillfully integrate AI into their work, gaining a competitive edge.
The third class is service professionals, who rely on the irreplaceable human touch in roles such as teaching, nursing, and therapy.
The fourth class refers to the displaced, which is the group facing the highest level of risk, as they are being disrupted by AI or outpaced by those who use it more effectively.
He said Thailand’s labour shortage provides AI with a massive opportunity to assist professionals such as doctors and nurses and boost their productivity.
The nation has the potential to push its people and businesses into the cyborg class, using technology to create new entrepreneurs and opportunities.
LONGEVITY ECONOMY
Mr Santitarn said Thailand should focus on creating a “longevity” economy as Thailand’s ageing society creates immense demand for healthcare and wellness services, areas in which Thailand has a high level of competitiveness.
The longevity economy covers healthy food, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and wearable technology.
He advised Thailand to build a mindset that constantly seeks to challenge itself to improve and adapt to a world of constant change.
He said Thais should posses three skill sets which he describes as milk, whisky and water. Milk is knowledge that is useful now but expires quickly. Whisky refers to skills like critical thinking that get better with age and water refers to self-awareness.
Piyachart Isarabhakdee, chief executive of BRANDi and Companies, said Thailand is caught between a fading old economy and an emerging one that has yet to take hold, struggling to regain past GDP growth rates of 5-6%.
However, focusing only on growth overlooks deeper issues such as climate change, debt, and inequality.
The current growth model encourages consumption over creation, fuelling long-term financial instability, Mr Piyachart said.
Future growth must come from “total factor productivity” — innovations and efficiencies that make the entire economy more productive — rather than just adding more labour or infrastructure. AI is poised to be a major driver of this productivity, he said.
A key challenge is as AI and technology lift productivity, wealth may concentrate among tech owners, leaving ordinary people behind.
At the same time, globalisation is shifting as the US turns inwards while China leads new global partnerships, creating an opportunity for Asean, said Mr Piyachart.
CROSS-CUTTING INDUSTRIES
Thailand should also focus on “cross-cutting industries” rather than trying to create entirely new sectors from scratch, he said.
“The key is to combine existing strengths with new trends, such as combining tourism with wellness to create longevity tourism, or integrating technology into agriculture. This means tech is a new infrastructure for growth,” said Mr Piyachart.
AI is ushering in a new technological era, driving global growth even without human input and potentially undermining the value of human thought, he said. To protect human agency, it’s vital to keep authentic intelligence in control.
“AI should be a tool guided by humans — not a force we blindly follow. The key question, according to Mr Piyachart, is: “Will AI be our ideal subordinate, or will we become its obedient followers?”
Ruangroj Poonpol, group chairman of Kasikorn Business – Technology Group, said enhancing productivity alone will not solve Thailand’s labour shortage.
He suggested Thailand extend the retirement age for experienced workers, attract more global talent, increase the female labour force participation rate, and leverage automation and AI to support human-centric approaches.
Mr Ruangroj urged individuals and leaders to adopt the “4 Re” mindset: re-learn by continuously acquiring new knowledge; re-set business models, job roles, and definitions of success; re-form by driving change even when it seems unnecessary; and build resiliency to grow from setbacks.