dtac launches AI Lab in partnership with SIIT

Dtac, in collaboration with Thammasat University’s Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT) set up an artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory.

Located at Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus, the dtac SIIT AI Lab will connect data science students and leading professors with real-world business cases provided by dtac. The partnership supports both dtac’s AI strategy and its ambition to train a new generation of digital talents for Thailand.

Dr. Ukrit Salyapongs, Head of Channel Strategy & Performance Management Division, dtac, outlined how digital transformation has led to a competitive environment that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.

In response, dtac’s collaboration with SIIT is a strategic decision to collaborate with top-notch academics to explore and apply new technology to tomorrow’s business challenges. The collaboration is expected to aid dtac in automating its business operation process and support highly-advanced customer personalization.

AI will deeply transform business. It’s important that students not only learn how machine learning works, but also how it interfaces with real-world business challenges. The AI Lab will have access to some of the most advanced data available in Thailand.

Dtac is investing 12 million baht in the lab over two years, but it is also providing anonymised data and real business challenges, so that students can work on developing applicable solutions.

The AI Lab will initially focus on time-consuming processes best left to machines. For example, dtac and SIIT are already collaborating on an ID verification system that would increase safety while speeding up the process of SIM registration verification.

“We’ve reached a point where we can simplify the customer experience and make it easier and more personalised through a use of AI. It is the key to offering better services more seamlessly. In the future, AI will allow customers walking into our shops to receive recommendations based on their usage without having to explain how they currently use their smartphone,” said Dr. Ukrit.

To prepare for in-store AI usage, dtac is currently revamping its stores to introduce touchscreen interfaces and salespersons equipped with mobile devices, a series of foundational changes to make the dtac customer experience smoother. With AI, dtac will move further towards “invisible interfaces,” where facial recognition and voice-operated devices allow services to be delivered with the least possible friction.

According to Prof. Dr. Thanaruk Theeramunkong, of SIIT, the AI Lab is now operational and will allow over 200 students to train there each year.