KBTG Techtopia: At World’s Beginning opens the window into the future of humanity, reaffirming that humans and AI, when combined, are the beacon of the new era
- Published in News from Asia
The event welcomed more than 4,000 participants from diverse industries, supported by leading partners both locally and internationally. The theme of this year's event, "At World's Beginning", reflects a world that is no longer the same, and raised the question of how people and technology can move forward together. Participants were invited to explore new beginnings and ignite hope for creating a better tomorrow by combining the power of humans and emerging technologies, especially AI, to unlock limitless possibilities.
Mr. Ruangroj Poonpol, Group Chairman, KASIKORN Business-Technology Group (KBTG), said, "KBTG Techtopia is an international technology conference that brought together world-class innovations and creativity, supported by leading partners both locally and internationally. This year, the event attracted more than 4,000 participants and was held under the theme "At World's Beginning" to explore new beginnings and ignite hope for a better tomorrow through the combined power of humans and technology. Currently, AI stands at many crossroads where humans must determine its future, from the arrival of Agentic AI to AI governance and containment, as well as the balance between practical applications and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and global collaboration across sectors. Additionally, the conference highlighted the importance of addressing the energy footprint and leveraging AI to reduce inequality to ensure that intelligence is not limited to only the wealthy."
Another highlight of this year's event was a recorded conversation between Mr. Ruangroj Poonpol and Dr. Andrew Ng, Managing General Partner of AI Fund. Although Dr. Andrew Ng could not attend in person this year, he shared valuable insights with participants under the topic, "AI's Next Frontier: Transitioning from Hype to Impact." Key takeaways included the transition from Gen AI to Agentic AI, which is like having access to a broader set of tools that enables the creation of more complex and useful applications, especially when users understand how to combine these tools effectively. He emphasized that AI will not replace people, but people who use AI will replace those who don't, particularly for non-technical roles such as finance, law, and management. On the engineering side, AI coding assistants will allow developers to build software faster, accelerate proof of concept development, and reduce costs. Regarding Physical AI and robotics, Dr. Andrew Ng pointed out that practical applications in industries are beginning to emerge, although they have not yet reached the inflection point like large language models (LLMs). He also stressed that it is not too late to start learning AI, and the knowledge gained today will remain relevant in the future. While some aspects may eventually become obsolete, 80-90 percent of what is learned today will still hold value a year from now, giving learners a significant advantage over those who do not learn.
Regarding corporate strategy, emphasis should be placed on employee training, creating sandboxes for new experiments, and selecting high-value use cases that align with the corporate strategy, while maintaining a balance between innovations, governance, and guardrails. Moreover, Dr. Andrew Ng expressed confidence in Thailand's potential to become a regional leader in AI and pledged continued support for the development of its ecosystem.
The KBTG Techtopia event also featured three main discussion stages, bringing together leading global speakers to debate hot topics and propose solutions through real-world examples. In the morning, attendees listened to various topics from speakers including: Professor Danielle Wood, Director of the Space Enabled Research Group at MIT Media Lab; Mr. Kevin Wei Wang, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company; and Ms. Cindy Chow, Executive Director and CEO of the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund. Additionally, the afternoon featured interesting topics ranging from research fields to corporate transformation, future of education, healthtech, and human-centered product design, all in accordance with the event's theme.
Furthermore, there were numerous activities designed to help ignite inspiration, unlock potential, and expand everyone's thinking boundaries, including a zone showcasing new, never-before-revealed technologies and innovations from KBTG and leading technology partners, playground workshops offering hands-on training by real experts to build future-ready skills, and a community circle for exchanging ideas with the tech communities in a casual, friendly atmosphere.
Mr. Ruangroj concluded, "KBTG Techtopia is not merely a technology exhibition, but a stage created to spark new ideas and connect people who share a common dream of building a better world with technology. KBTG believes this event will be a new beginning for that world, towards a future filled with hope. KBTG will lead in driving that future through crafting meaningful innovations and continuing to inspire the new generation and entrepreneurs across all sectors."
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KASIKORN Business-Technology Group
KBTG is a tech arm of KASIKORNBANK. We never cease to innovate financial applications and beyond. Utilizing our expertise, experience and expansive ecosystem, we are proud to serve millions of customers across the nation and the region.
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