Showing 1 - 10 of 32
Anti-fashion icons
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 09/04/2026
» When emerging photographer Preeyaporn Namcharoensombat was a student, she was criticised by her neighbours for being a skoi because she wore shorts while riding on the back of a motorcycle. This triggered her to become interested in other girls also labelled skoi. When she saw discussions about them online, she would read about it out of curiosity.
AI learning versus human creativity is a real battle
Life, James Hein, Published on 25/02/2026
» If you’ve been reading these columns long enough, you’ll probably know that I write music and I’ve written some books. With the advent of artificial intelligence, the concept of copyright and private property has blurred. The standard rule was, what you have worked hard on to create, belongs to you. As musicians and authors, ideally, we create, we write and we invent. In the world of AI, it will draw a picture, write a book and create music for you based on a simple text prompt that itself may have also been written for you by AI.
Taiwanese medical tech arrives at Bitec
Life, Published on 04/09/2025
» Cutting-edge medical technology from Taiwan will be presented at the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion during Medical Fair Thailand 2025, which will take place at Bitec Hall 99, Bang Na-Trat Road, daily from 10am to 6pm, from Sept 10-12.
AI will overpromise and underdeliver
Life, James Hein, Published on 27/08/2025
» Let's start with a few brief comments on the current state of artificial intelligence. Specially targeted and trained AI models are improving. These are things like detecting something in an X-ray or hunting for potential chemical candidates for a compound to attack a specific condition. Generating pictures and videos is also improving rapidly, and by the end of the year the majority of people will not be able to tell the difference between the real thing and the AI fake. Large Language Models are still unpredictable and can give false or fake answers depending on the structure of the prompts, so be careful with the answer you get from these. The current corporate buy-in for AI is well beyond what it can deliver. This is driven by marketing, not the actual state of capabilities. My prediction is there will be a lot of out-of-pocket organisations of all types disappointed by results.
Hidden danger
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 26/08/2025
» Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (Earth), a nonprofit organisation, recently revealed the results of a national report titled "Lead In Solvent-Based Paints In Thailand". The study, which tested 55 paint samples from 45 brands sold in the country, revealed that more than 20% of samples had lead levels exceeding 100ppm (the standard set by the Thai Industrial Standards Institute, or TISI). Of these, many also had high lead concentration ranging from 10,000ppm to 64,000ppm.
A night of prodigies
Life, William Niall Morris, Published on 23/08/2025
» In 1978, composer John Williams won the Best Original Music Oscar for his work on the movie Star Wars. We've all heard the main theme countless times over the years, but listening to it performed by a live symphony orchestra is a whole new intergalactic experience. Such was the intense power of the Siam Sinfonietta as it swept over the Main Hall of the Thailand Cultural Centre that my nine-year-old nephew, Hummer, was pinned to his seat with wide-eyed wonder.
Soft power struggles
Life, Apinan Poshyananda, Published on 05/06/2024
» Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's 10 months in office have proven to be full of optimism, entertainment and drama. His non-stop whirlwind trips to lure investors including Microsoft, Tesla, Formula One, Tomorrowland and Art Basel to Thailand earned him the image of the salesman on a Time magazine cover. With the government's 10-month report card out and future plans in discussion, there has been both applause and confusion.
Decoding the past
Life, Pattarawadee Saengmanee, Published on 02/05/2024
» Just as how hieroglyphics on pyramid walls indicate a pictorial writing system in ancient Egypt and how the cuneiform led to the evolution of languages in ancient Middle East, the Ram Khamhaeng Inscription underscores the development of the Thai alphabet during the Sukhothai period. At the National Museum Bangkok, visitors now have a chance to view and learn how to read it.
Musical exchanges
Life, Daniel James Hudson, Published on 02/04/2024
» A completely packed Thailand Cultural Centre (TCC) was witness to a truly awe-inspiring concert on March 22, as a top visiting orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (TSO), took to the stage to officially mark the opening of its brand new, brave initiative called "Asia Project".
Getting soft power right
Life, Prof Apinan Poshyananda, Published on 08/01/2024
» After three months in office, the Srettha Thavisin government has raved on about populist policies in the guise of digital wallets and soft power projects that will create income to boost our declining economy. With optimism, we learned that Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Pheu Thai party leader and head of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee (NSPSC), has drafted a budget of 5.1 billion baht to boost festivals and creative industries. It is welcoming news to hear this government is priortising art, music, literature, design, fashion, film, food, games, sports and festivals as essential sources for the creative economy. Where this enormous chunk of budget will come from, like digital wallets, remains to be seen.