On October 14, Piti Disyatat, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Thailand, expressed at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings that expectations for AI to swiftly elevate productivity should be tempered. He highlighted that investments in AI infrastructure have already exerted a substantial influence on the demand front, spurring growth in both domestic investment and exports within Thailand. Nevertheless, Piti contends that the current extensive expenditures in the AI realm predominantly mirror an expectation of future supply capabilities from the demand perspective. In contrast, transformations on the supply side—where AI genuinely revolutionizes work practices and amplifies productivity—will necessitate a significantly longer period to manifest.

He underscored that discerning the productivity-enhancing effects of AI, either in the present or the coming year, will prove challenging, as this evolution will unfold over a more extended timeframe than initially anticipated. However, once it does, the pace of advancement will be remarkably swift. Piti also observed a notable temporal gap between the short-term economic impetus generated by AI investments and the long-term surge in productivity. Furthermore, he clarified that the ongoing infrastructure construction surge does not directly translate into a tangible uptick in production efficiency.