A United Thai Nation Party spokesperson has urged the government to speed up rules for AI and data centres, warning that weak oversight could eventually leave sensitive Thai data under foreign control.
Sasikarn Wattanachan, a former deputy government spokesperson, said yesterday, September 15, that she welcomed moves by state agencies to slow construction approvals and tighten oversight of data centre development.
However, she said data centre projects should not be allowed to proceed without clearly explaining their plans to the public.
Sasikarn said concerns surrounding the sector went beyond electricity and water use or the waste and environmental impact generated by large facilities. She argued that transparency over how AI projects are funded and what they are being developed for was equally important.
She called on private companies to disclose the origins of major investments, what projects they intend to develop and who the technology will serve.
Sasikarn also raised concerns about whether investments worth hundreds of billions of baht could involve money connected to scam networks, and whether AI systems could ultimately be used to support criminal operations linked to grey Chinese businesses.
She said some companies already disclose their plans, but others, particularly private limited companies, provide little information about what they intend to develop.
The government therefore needed to consider not only what companies were doing today but what they could be planning over the next five years, she said.
Sasikarn also raised concerns about some Thai data centre companies holding some of the country’s largest datasets. She questioned the risks if such information were processed by AI without laws governing its use.
She said the structures of some companies also allow for foreign investment or the sale of shares to overseas investors.
Sasikarn questioned what would happen if a company holding data on Thai citizens were bought by foreign investors, leaving that information in foreign hands, and how Thailand would protect the security of its national resources.
Sasikarn said government regulation must therefore keep pace with private-sector development.
She called on the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to accelerate AI regulations, noting that a draft Artificial Intelligence Act had already passed the public consultation stage.
However, she questioned whether the proposed legislation would remain suitable as technology develops over the next five years.
Sasikarn also cited OpenAI and Anthropic while discussing potential risks involving AI systems operating outside controlled environments. She questioned whether Thailand would be prepared if AI were misused to attack important systems, including the Bank of Thailand.
Additionally, she referred to concerns in the United States about increasingly powerful AI potentially interfering with economic and political systems.
Sasikarn warned that if government oversight failed to keep pace with private companies, technology capable of transforming the economy could instead become a tool for grey businesses.
She urged the government to act before problems became harder to contain, saying some risks could be prevented at an early stage.
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