KBTG organizes KBTG Techtopia
KASIKORN Business-Technology Group (KBTG) recently organized KBTG Techtopia for the second consecutive year. A thought-provoking and skill-awakening tech conference, KBTG Techtopia brought together over 70 speakers from around the world and more than 2,500 attendees, establishing itself as a leading platform for tech enthusiasts and Thailand as the destination for frontier technologies of Southeast Asia.
Mr. Ruangroj Poonpol, Group Chairman of KASIKORN Business-Technology Group (KBTG), stated, “following our success from last year, we opted for KBTG Techtopia at a much larger scale, moving the venue from our headquarters to central Bangkok. On 18 July 2024, we transformed the entire fifth floor of Samyan Mitrtown into a space where attendees could immerse themselves in emerging technologies and meaningful conversations. Although our primary focus is still AI, we chose to dive deeper beneath the trends, addressing more pressing matters as discussed on the global stage like risk management, national strategy, and AI ethics. Most importantly, we would like to demonstrate that AI will not reduce or replace human’s role. On the contrary, human’s significance will only increase moving forward, serving as the conductor to the orchestra. Always bring AI on the table but keep humans in the room.”
With this year’s theme being “A Blast From the Future”, not only were the topics curated to showcase new possibilities that near-future technologies can unlock, both to positive and negative effects, KBTG also invited Thai policy makers and representatives from global institutions to share their action plans and paint the visions of tomorrow together. One of the key speakers is Dr. Andrew Ng, the Managing General Partner of AI Fund, founder of DeepLearning.AI, co-founder of Coursera, and named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people in AI.
In his keynote, Ng explained how AI is rapidly evolving into general-purpose technology, likening it to electricity. With new opportunities come risks, though he argued that the risks of AI lie in the application, not the technology itself. He further pointed out the areas in which AI could be applied in Thailand, namely tourism, healthcare, and agriculture. Ng’s appearance on the stage of KBTG Techtopia came after the strategic partnership announcement between AI Fund and KXVC, KBTG’s venture capital arm, with the aim to build new AI startups and strengthen connections between their robust ecosystems. During his visit, KBTG and Ng have formed two additional partnerships to drive AI education in Thailand:
- KBTG, DeepLearning.ai and the Artificial Intelligence Association of Thailand (AIAT) to create KBTG.AI Kampus program for developing Thai AI talents
- KBTG, AI Fund, and Equitable Education Fund (EEF) to explore AI technology solutions to help improve Thailand’s youth education system.
What differentiated this year’s conference is the variety of topics. Not limiting the subjects to AI, KBTG Techtopia touched on other emerging techs, from machine learning, blockchain, Web3, quantum computing, cyber security, ESG and many more, through the eyes of industry experts like Microsoft, AWS, Google Cloud, IBM, and Cisco. Additionally, we worked with The Secret Sauce, one of Thailand’s most popular podcast shows, to produce a half-day session featuring remarkable innovations and business cases by Thais, illuminating the actual potential Thailand holds. In total, the conference offered three conference stages, six workshops, as well as the innovation product exhibition zone with selections of state-of-the-art technology and cutting-edge solutions by KBTG and partners, including KASIKORN VISION INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY or K-Tech, KBTG’s China-based office who flew from Shenzhen to take part in this event.
Aligning with KBTG’s mission to promote AI literacy and support AI growth, all proceeds from ticket sales after deduction of expenses are allocated to the Artificial Intelligence Association of Thailand (AIAT) to support the development of OpenThaiGPT – a project aimed at enhancing the efficiency of the Thai large language model (Thai LLM) and improving its usability. Having sold out the on-ground tickets within the early bird period, KBTG has raised a total of 681,000 baht. This amount will be further contributed by the sales of rerun tickets.
Mr. Ruangroj said in closing, “KBTG Techtopia is a monumental step that KBTG took to drive and elevate technological advancement in Southeast Asia, as well as promoting Thailand as the destination for frontier technologies. Having brought prominent figures such as Ng to inspire thousands of people in Thailand, KBTG Techtopia has proven itself as the place to be for all tech enthusiasts. Next year is going to be even more amazing and we could not wait to take everyone on an exploration once more.”
