MP Questions Fisheries Dept. App Developer's 53 Projects, Demands Specs

Matichon•Economy•19d ago

Reader Briefing

A Member of Parliament is questioning the Fisheries Department's procurement practices and the effectiveness of a 9.1 million baht AI application that reportedly fails to distinguish between fried dough sticks and fish.

•Member of Parliament Watcharachai Pungvittayaphanu (P.C.N.) has raised concerns about a company that developed an AI application for the Department of Fisheries.
•The application, named 'Thailand FishAI,' reportedly cost 9.1 million baht and failed to distinguish between common street food (fried dough sticks) and fish.
•The MP highlighted that the company has secured over 53 projects from the Department of Fisheries, often through direct selection rather than open bidding.

Overview

•The 'Thailand FishAI' application for the Department of Fisheries was developed with a budget of 9.1 million baht.
•MP Watcharachai Pungvittayaphanu stated that the 9.1 million baht budget is 'high' for a mobile application in the current era, especially given its performance issues.
•The MP pointed out that existing technologies like Google Lens can perform similar identification tasks for free and with higher accuracy.
•The Department of Fisheries reportedly claimed the app is a 'Prototype' in its research phase and can only identify 52 fish species accurately, requesting public assistance to 'train' the AI.
•MP Watcharachai Pungvittayaphanu questioned the allocation of 9 million baht when the AI's immediate capability is limited to 52 species and acknowledged low accuracy.
•The MP expressed concern that public tax money is being spent on a project with questionable value, suggesting the funds could have been used for practical aid to fishermen or flood-affected farmers.
•The company responsible for the app has reportedly been awarded over 53 projects from the Department of Fisheries, many through 'specific selection' or 'selective bidding' processes.
•MP Watcharachai Pungvittayaphanu questioned the project acceptance committee's quality control, asking how an app that cannot differentiate between fried dough sticks and fish passed acceptance.

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Key Quotes

Watcharachai Pungvittayaphanu

"9 million budget, but it can't distinguish between fried dough sticks and fish. Is this AI or 'Eh-AI'?"

งบ 9 ล้าน แต่แยกปาท่องโก๋กับปลาไม่ออก นี่มัน AI หรือ “เอ๊ะ-ไอ” กันแน่?

Watcharachai Pungvittayaphanu

"Don't use 'Prototype' to mask the budget's lack of value."

อย่าเอาคำว่า Prototype มาบังหน้า ความไม่คุ้มค่าของงบประมาณ

Watcharachai Pungvittayaphanu

"This is our tax money."

มันคือเงินภาษีพวกเรา

Watcharachai Pungvittayaphanu

"And you say it recognizes only 52 fish species... the question is, where did the 9 million baht go?"

แล้วที่บอกว่ารู้จักปลาแค่ 52 ชนิด... คำถามคือ แล้วเงิน 9 ล้านมันหายไปไหนหมด?

Key Entities

Person

MP P.C.N.(สส.ปชน.)

Member of Parliament who is critically evaluating the Department of Fisheries' AI project and procurement practices.

Watcharachai Pungvittayaphanu(นายภาวุธ พงษ์วิทยภานุ)

Member of Parliament, account list of the People's Party, who is the public critic of the Fisheries Department's app development and company's contracts.

Organization

People's Party(พรรคประชาชน)

Political party to which MP Watcharachai Pungvittayaphanu belongs.

Department of Fisheries(กรมประมง)ℹ️

Government agency that commissioned the 'Thailand FishAI' application and has awarded numerous projects to a specific company.