Introducing TH-AI Passport, a government project with a budget of 1.6 billion baht providing premium AI access free for one year to 5 million Thais, along with details on benefits and how to register for digital upskilling and income generation to enhance Thailand's digital capabilities.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is rapidly transforming work and daily life. Recently, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) together with the National Digital Economy and Society Committee Office (ONDE) has pushed forward an important project called“TH-AI Passport”or the Digital and AI Skills Enhancement Project for Thais, designed to offer equal opportunities for the public to access advanced technology.
This article takes a closer look at what TH-AI Passport is, the benefits for citizens, and its significance for Thailand's future.
TH-AI Passport is a project that provides a central platform aggregating world-leading Generative AI tools in paid versions (Pro or Premium) for free use by Thai citizens aged 15 and above, for one year. The goal is to offer 5 million free licenses.
The project is funded with more than 1.621 billion baht from the Digital Economy and Society Development Fund. Its main objectives are to reduce inequality in accessing advanced technology and to encourage AI adoption in education and practical work.
This project opens doors for the general public, students, and young workers (First Jobbers) to access professional-level AI tools at no cost. The key benefits include:
Eligible users will be able to use top-tier Generative AI systems (such as platforms integrating leading models like ChatGPT Plus, Gemini Advanced, or Claude Pro, as required by the TOR to have at least 8 premium-level products). This saves monthly fees which typically range from hundreds to thousands of baht.
program. The project not only grants access but also provides a learning platform for upskilling, teaching from basics and prompt engineering to applying AI for income generation and career advancement.
Participants who complete the designated courses will receive certificates developed in collaboration with leading tech companies, which can enhance their job application profiles.
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society states the initial criteria and usage guidelines as follows:
According to data presented by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to Parliament, the current AI access and usage rate among Thai people and businesses remains relatively low at just 10.67%, compared to neighboring Vietnam at 23.5% and Singapore soaring to 60.9%.
Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum estimates that by 2030, at least 20% of jobs in Thailand will be replaced or transformed by AI systems. Therefore, the TH-AI Passport project is positioned asa "shortcut"to elevate Thai workers to keep pace with the region.
However, the project continues to attract close scrutiny from society and politics regarding the value of the 1.6 billion baht budget, transparency in procurement processes, and personal data security (PDPA). The Ministry clarifies that all usage data (prompts) will be stored anonymously within cloud systems in Thailand and will be used to further develop the ThaiLLM (Thai Language Model) project to build technological sovereignty for the country in the long term.