OPINION

Back from the past

Re: "Decision on Kittiratt as Bank of Thailand chair not yet final", (BP, Dec 27) & "Kittiratt defends rice scheme: IMF triggers another round of criticisms", (Business, Nov 14, 2013).

The Post article mentions only one consideration which might have a bearing on Kittiratt Na-Ranong's suitability as Bank of Thailand chairman: "His nomination was being questioned due to his recent role as an adviser to former prime minister Srettha Thavisin, which critics said could jeopardise the bank's independence".

The government always seems to suffer from short memories and an even shorter attention span. About a decade ago, Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na Ranong and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra presided over one of the largest scandals in recent Thai history.

The rice pledging scheme lost a minimum of US$4.46 billion. In December 2013, the Post reported the International Monetary Fund criticised this outrageous malfeasance, and suggested the "Thai government replace the paddy scheme with other subsidies that are more effective in supporting households such as schooling and more chances for the young workforce".

Kittiratt was quoted in November 2013 replying: "The IMF should try to understand our economic structure better and offer solutions that are appropriate to the Thai economy and this country." In summary, it appears his association with Srettha Thavasin might be the least of citizens' concerns in this matter.

By any other name

Re: "Feast of feuds", (PostBag, Dec 26).

Ray Ban misunderstood my meaning of character assassination as meaning against those who have a different view.

As the word "character" implied, calling a person as having "a serious case of Trump derangement syndrome" to win an argument is a form of character assassination by pen.

As the old saying goes: "The pen is mightier than the sword". Khun Ban can understand the feeling and the character assassin by using a real name when criticising others.

Plea for SMEs

Re: "Landmark loan contraction predicted: K-Research sees 1st shrinkage in 15 years", (Business, Dec 26).

SMEs in Thailand are in crisis and need urgent help. Accounting for 99% of local businesses, they receive only 18% of outstanding credit from commercial banks and contribute 35% of GDP. These statistics highlight the pervasive inequality in the Thai economic system.

As in other countries, central banks help small businesses by setting policies to stabilise the economy. Commercial banks, in the form of microfinance and pico finance, can play a role in helping local businesses invest in rural projects.

What is needed is guardrails to help borrowers service debts. These loan providers can even help reduce poverty by offering loans to poor communities.

AI proud to admit it

Re: "GenAI poses threat to skills development", (Business, Dec 26).

Author Komsan Tortermvasana might well be correct that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) poses threats to humans.

Most progress does. Cars, for example, are currently having news of their persistent threat given its annual outing. Inventions such as writing have also traditionally undermined the need to remember things. But AI is modelled on human neural activity, so it's perhaps not so surprising that we already have much in common with it.

Referring to AI's well-known propensity to hallucinate, Tortermvasana's sentence: "This is when AI creates results or responses that seem believable but are incorrect, which can lead to misunderstandings and can even lead users to make incorrect decisions," has all too obvious human equivalents.

It perfectly sums up what those with religious beliefs have been doing for millennia. Worse, they act on those beliefs to harm others, not only in holy wars, but in the denial of abortion rights, opposition to same-sex marriage, irrational and unjust restrictions on the sale of alcohol and other popular recreational drugs, the active endorsement of slavery, colonisation, miscellaneous other abuses committed in their name, and of course forcing their dogmas to be taught in schools.

Perhaps if humans could set more rational, honest, examples, GenAI would not be led to such ingrained tendencies to make things up rather than honestly say, "I do not know", when faced with the majestic mysteries of life, the universe, and everything.

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