Yotsanan Wongsawat announces AI education and household flood warning plans

Yotsanan Wongsawat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, has announced new initiatives to utilize science and technology to address flood management and education.

To improve flood response, particularly in northern Thailand, the government is developing a granular warning system. Moving beyond sub-district levels, the goal is to provide alerts at the community and household level using Digital Twin technology to simulate terrain and water paths. The system will specifically identify the locations of bedridden patients to ensure coordinated emergency evacuations. This follows lessons learned in Nan province, where high-altitude rainfall reached communities faster than river level measurements could detect.

In the education sector, the Minister proposed ‘Precision Education,’ an approach using AI to tailor learning to individual student aptitudes. This initiative aims to reduce inequality by moving away from a strict reliance on grades and instead fostering diverse skills in areas such as arts, mechanics, and agriculture. Additionally, the concept of a ‘Credit Bank’ will be introduced to allow individuals to convert professional experience into academic credits, promoting lifelong learning.