Techsauce Global Summit 2024 (TGS2024) has taken us through the looking glass into “The World of Tomorrow with AI.” This year’s theme has brought together 400 prominent speakers, international experts, investors, and senior executives, sharing their insights, knowledge, and experiences across 11 stages.
Hosted at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, TGS2024 was held from August 7th–9th, 2024. Exhibition content was organized into five key AI pillars: AI for Growth, AI for Good, AI-Human Symbiosis, AI in Culture, and AI Safety and Governance.
The expansion of the summit into one of Southeast Asia’s biggest tech events reflects Techsauce’s growing role as a tech ecosystem builder as well as tailwinds from Thai policymakers looking to “ignite” Thailand’s potential as a digital hub of the region.
Ameca robot lands in Southeast Asia
A highlight of the event was the unveiling of Ameca, “the world’s most advanced human-shaped robot” created by Engineered Arts, the UK’s leading designer and manufacturer of humanoid entertainment robots.
The robot was introduced on the main stage and despite some initial hiccups, was able to field questions from her human co-presenter to expound on AI opportunities, concerns, and challenges. For the rest of TGS2024, Ameca was made available on the exhibition floor for attendees to engage and interact with.
Ameca’s appearance marked the first time such an advanced robot had been showcased in Southeast Asia and Thailand, further cementing Thailand’s role as tech gateway to the region.
Aligning AI technology with human needs
Among the key topics discussed was the concept of “AI to IA,” or using artificial intelligence, which aims to match or surpass human intelligence for intelligence augmentation, which aims to optimize human performance using AI.
Pattie Maes, a professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Media Lab, shared her approach to developing IA devices that promote human potential. Memoro, for example, functions as a personal memory assistant, capturing the user’s audio interactions and inferring their memory needs.
Benjamin Van Roy, a professor from Stanford University and Google DeepMind, shared his views on the so-called “alignment problem,” or the issue of AI proposing solutions that do not align with human intentions. He gave the example of how the Indian government once offered a bounty on cobra heads to reduce pest populations, which resulted in people breeding cobras to collect on the reward.
“AI is not a miracle pill, but a technological advancement that will enhance human efficiency. It is a fundamental future that we must learn and utilize, which will create a huge positive impact on society and the country,” said Oranuch Lerdsuwankij, CEO and Co-founder of Techsauce.
Thailand lays groundwork for AI future
According to Oranuch, the summit this year aimed to “create a more powerful Tech Ecosystem” and drive Thailand “to become the true Tech Gateway of the region.” These ambitions coincide with a government push to revitalize the Thai economy by investing in digital infrastructure and capacity.
At the opening ceremony, Prasert Chanthararuangthong, Minister of Digital Economy and Society, shared with event-goers that Thailand’s AI roadmap is a core component of Thailand’s extensive reforms under the Prime Minister’s “IGNITE THAILAND” vision.
Key approaches include building AI infrastructure, promoting AI development, attracting AI talent, accelerating AI adoption, and ensuring AI trust and safety. These approaches involve investing in data centers, creating open data sets, establishing a Global AI Excellence Center, and developing AI governance guidelines.
These approaches constitute the ministry’s own vision of “Creating Opportunities from AI and Driving Inclusive Innovation.”
Techsauce takes summit to Indonesia, Vietnam
This year is the ninth edition of Techsauce Global Summit, but the first to have been expanded to three days.
“The purpose of organizing Techsauce Global Summit this year is to provide attendees with an opportunity to understand all the key aspects under ‘The World of Tomorrow with AI’, as well as to continue the success of Techsauce Global Summit in the past,” said Oranuch, noting that last year, the summit had successfully generated no less than THB300 million in economic impact for the country.
In addition to a wide range of Thai corporations and startups, TGS2024 saw broad international participation, with pavilions for Australia, Czech Republic, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. According to Panakorn Dejthumrongwat, Head of Investment Promotion at InvestHK and HKETO, Techsauce has been a pipeline for finding Thai startups looking to expand abroad, as well as participate in Hong Kong Fintech Week, which itself is taking place in late October.
Naturally, the tech ecosystem builder has set its sights abroad, planning additional Techsauce summits in Bali, Indonesia from September 23rd–25th, 2024 and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam on October 11th, 2024.
Teerin Julsawad 
Paul Rujopakarn