OPINION

Time to act now

Re: "Lax border tech invites crime", (Editorial, Mar 2).

I'm concerned about the scores of immigrants who process their documents every day at the immigration office in Si Racha, where I live. A lot of them come from other areas to get their permits to stay and work legally in the country.

These days, a lot of foreigners come to our country to visit or work as a result of more lax border policies, but I have not seen any steps on the part of the government to curb illegal activities carried out by some of these individuals.

The government can't sweep these problems under the carpet forever, and one of these days, the situation will deteriorate beyond remedy.

Re: "USAID workers rocked by US foreign aid cuts", (World, March 2).

It is no surprise to hear the whining around the world about the US attempting to end its role as the world's Sugar Daddy. The US has a national debt, which as of this morning stood at $36.509,770,000,000! In case you can't count that high a number, it is over US$36 trillion and counting. We cannot even pay the interest!

If spending continues at this pace, it will not be long before the US will go bankrupt. It is that simple. Would the rest of the world bail us out? Not likely! We, the people, finally elected a president who has the nerve to actually try to do something about it. Thank you, President Trump.

Re: "PM seeks to clarify 'honesty'", (BP, Feb 27).

PM has requested guidance from the Constitutional Court on the meaning of "honesty" as referred to in Section 160(4) of the constitution, which outlines the prerequisites in appointing a minister. It is clear that honesty, as is term, is similar to "beauty". It depends on the eyes of the beholder. A response stating otherwise from the Constitutional Court would be an eye-opener.

Re: "AI has potential, but care needed", (Editorial, Feb 23).

Few, I think, would dispute that AI has great potential to radically transform our lives at least. Nor would many dispute that care is also needed: we do not want to be turned into paper clips by an AI model.

But a concern specific to Thailand has been overlooked. Current AI models, such as ChatGPT, will, when asked, give informed answers to questions about taboo topics. Worse, when asked to support those answer, the response provides solid reasoning, not the entertainingly weird hallucinations that AI was once famous for. This must pose a threat to those Thai institutions.

Are Thai prisons up to housing AIs that violate Section 112 of the Criminal Code? And what if an AI duly imprisoned in strict accord with the law starts chatting with the likes of globally honoured rights advocate Arnon Nampa?

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