As AI emerges as a powerful force transforming business sectors worldwide, Dr. Arak Sutivong, Deputy CEO of SCBX, reveals that while nearly 90% of CEOs globally believe AI will significantly impact their business, only 9% have successfully and widely implemented AI according to their objectives, highlighting the challenges in practical AI implementation.
“A vision without execution is just hallucination. For AI, which serves as the brain, to create real change, organizations need strong supporting muscles,” Dr. Arak states, as he unveils “Building Corporate AI Muscles” SCBX Group’s framework uncovered to drive organizational transformation through AI across five crucial dimensions:
1.People Muscle: Building AI Understanding among All Levels
SCBX prioritizes personnel development across three levels, beginning with board members who receive technology updates through overseas study trips to explore technological advancements. At the executive level, there is an intensive push for AI-first Organization policies.
For the group’s 30,000 employees, SCBX has initiated an AI Literacy Program, covering everything from basic ChatGPT usage to AI model development. “Our goal is to ensure every employee understands what AI is, how to use it, and when not to use it. AI success isn’t just about technology – it’s about the people who use it,” Dr. Arak explains.
2.Data Muscle: Systematic Quality Data Management
“In the AI world, data is an organization’s real differentiator. While anyone can access ChatGPT or Gemini, these models don’t have access to our company’s internal data,” Dr. Arak notes. SCBX has established a specific subsidiary, SCB Data X (DataX) to collect and manage data from all subsidiary companies under PDPA compliance, emphasizing a data-centric rather than model-centric approach to leverage and maximize the utility of their large-scale databases.
“We don’t need to build models better than ChatGPT – we need to optimize our data to work with existing models,” Dr. Arak elaborates on SCBX Group’s data management philosophy.
3.Capability Muscle: Advancing Technology Capabilities
A notable success for SCBX Group is the development of “Typhoon,” a large Thai language model by subsidiary SCB 10X, which has been applied to monitor sales of financial product in according to the Market Conduct principles. “Moving from random sampling to AI-powered monitoring, we can now verify compliance of product presentation across all transactions with 92% accuracy. This ensures customers, employees, and regulators can trust that product presentations meet the required standards,” Dr. Arak states.
4.Empowerment Muscle: Fostering an Open Organizational Culture
SCBX cultivates a culture that encourages employee potential through year-round activities, recently organizing the SCBX AI Battle where employees presented AI application ideas, with winning teams visiting the Singapore Fintech Festival. “We must create a culture where employees are encouraged and empowered to experiment and take calculated risks within boundaries. This cultural foundation is crucial for innovation,” Dr. Arak emphasizes.
5.Enablement Muscle: Driving Transformational Change
To coordinate and drive AI adoption across the organization, SCBX has established a central unit. “Having a central hub enables idea sharing, reduces redundancy, and promotes collaborative learning, allowing the organization to move forward efficiently as one,” Dr. Arak adds.
“AI is like the organization’s brain, but for the brain to function effectively, it needs strong supporting muscles. While AI may be new, if we don’t start implementing it today, we risk missing opportunities to leverage innovation for business and daily life,” Dr. Arak concludes, affirming SCBX’s commitment to continuously strengthening these five muscles in the coming year to maintain both organizational and national competitiveness.
