Pawut criticizes TH-AI Passport for using cheap, low-quality AI

Thairath•Politics•41m ago

Reader Briefing

MP Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu attributes linguistic errors in the TH-AI Passport project to the government's selection of low-cost AI models.

•Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu stated on September 2, 2026, that TH-AI Passport produces distorted Thai text because the default models are inexpensive and lack Thai language proficiency.
•The budget for the project was modified from a lump sum of 1,600 million baht to a pay-per-use model costing approximately 24 baht per person.
•Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu recommends the government involve external experts in the inspection process and open a dashboard for transparent usage tracking.

Overview

•Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu explained that the distorted 'alien language' in AI-generated images occurs because the base models used in TH-AI Passport are not proficient in Thai.
•Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu believes the government chose cheaper models as the first option to reduce costs and resource consumption.
•Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu disagreed with Chaiyanok Chidchob's claim that the system needs to learn Thai, asserting that the issue lies in the selection of the model itself.
•Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu noted that the project budget was changed from a 1,600 million baht flat fee to a usage-based payment of about 24 baht per person.
•Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu expressed concern regarding whether the users of the system are actual people or fabricated accounts.
•Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu suggested that the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society should include external private sector experts on the inspection committee to ensure fairness.
•The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has begun promoting and inviting government agencies to utilize the TH-AI Passport project.

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Source: Thairath (Original)

Key Quotes

Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu

"It is taking cheap things to be the first choice; if good things were the first choice, it would consume more resources and costs."

เป็นการเอาของถูกมาให้เลือกใช้เป็นตัวเลือกแรก เพราะถ้าเอาของดีมาให้ใช้เป็นตัวเลือกแรก ก็จะกินทรัพยากรกินค่าใช้จ่ายเยอะ

Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu

"I think it is something to be proud of that we debated this project from the start; from having to pay 1,600 million baht at once, today the contract has been amended to pay based on actual usage."

ผมว่าเป็นสิ่งที่น่าภูมิใจ ที่เราได้มีการเปิดอภิปรายโครงการนี้ตั้งแต่เริ่มต้น จากที่ต้องจ่ายทีเดียว 1,600 ล้านบาท วันนี้มีการแก้สัญญาทำให้ จากนี้จะเป็นการจ่ายเงินจากการใช้จริง

Key Entities

Person

Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu(ภาวุธ พงษ์วิทยภานุ)

A list MP from the People's Party who criticized the TH-AI Passport project.

Chaiyanok Chidchob(ไชยชนก ชิดชอบ)

The Minister of Digital Economy and Society.

Organization

People's Party(พรรคประชาชน)

The political party to which Pawut Pongvidhyaphanu belongs.

Ministry of Digital Economy and Society(กระทรวงดิจิทัลเพื่อเศรษฐกิจและสังคม)ℹ️

The government ministry overseeing the TH-AI Passport project.

Googleℹ️

The company that developed the Nano banana model mentioned as a more proficient alternative for Thai language.

Policy

TH-AI Passport

A government AI project that allows users to create AI images but faces criticism for language distortion.