Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are asking the question, "why are Thai Officials constantly obsessed with Singapore?" I notice this more and more, and maybe this is some sort of conceit of the English language press because it seems like the Bangkok Post is constantly kind of pushing this notion that Singapore is some kind of ideal or something. 

I don't want to live in Singapore by the way; I don't want to live in a one-party dictatorship city state that is something between the local mall and Disney World, okay? I've never been to Singapore; I don't have any problem with Singapore; I don't have any problem with Singaporean people, no problems whatsoever. I live in Thailand, I came to Thailand, I want to live in Thailand. I don't want Thailand to be Singapore. I don't want the Thais to be Singaporeans. Why is this so hard to understand and why is there this constant push in the international press that we should all sing Kumbaya and there's no nationality left, we're all just one amorphous thing. I guess that thing is we are a giant Singapore. I don't get this, but Thailand is Thailand. Why is that so hard to understand? The way we do things here may be a little different from other places. That is the point of being in a country. 

That said, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Bangkok Airport Immigration speed and security to the fore. Quoting directly: "Suvarnabhumi Airport will also expand its facilities. Recruiting another 300 - 500 Immigration Officers" - IB, Immigration Bureau Officers. Yeah, that is worth noting. As I have noted in other videos, Thai immigration has already increased their personnel capacity. Now they are increasing it again. This is substantial stuff. Heightened scrutiny expected on immigration matters. Just as a baseline, I think that that is a solid presumption to make moving forward. That said. That said, quoting further: "300 - 500 IB Officers does not solve the problem of service speed alone." Well, it goes a long way, as I've discussed in other videos. Although quoting further, quote: "A new technology system is needed like Singapore's Changi Airport." Why? Where is this, I mean look, I have come through the airport a few times in the last couple weeks. Yeah, I go through the Thai side, but I do see the lines for Immigration, they're not wildly worse than they have been in the past. If anything, it looks like it's more efficient. Why this constant push for Thailand to be like Singapore. By the way, again, I guess I am at a loss for words which doesn't happen very often. That said quoting further: "Singapore Changi Airport which uses an automatic channel technology system for almost all arriving passengers." Well whoop dee doo. They know that when they leave the airport, they are still in a one-party dictatorship police state, so it doesn't matter that much like how fast they go through because effectively they're still in a controlled environment. Up here in Thailand it's not quite the same. I mean as the name suggests, Thailand is free, it's Land of the Free People. Yeah okay once they leave the airport, it is not so easy to bag and tag them the way that it might be in Singapore. Again, Thailand needs a different system because oh I don't know, it's a different country. Quoting further: "Which uses an automatic channel technology system for almost all arriving passengers. We have to adjust to that in the future, but our back-end system must be strong." Quoting further: "The Thailand Immigration System will be completed within two years and will have better security control with AI technology and analysis." Well, that's not Orwellian and creepy at all.

I mean frankly, I don't like the notion of AI being plugged into all of this stuff. I want Thai immigration offices with actual brains and the ability to analyze things for themselves to man these Immigration Checkpoints because they are going to have to deal with the possibility of foreign criminals coming in; that requires a great deal of ingenuity. Meanwhile I'm sorry. AI is just not this saviour, it's not this amazing technology we think it is. It's faster computing. That's effectively what the euphemism “AI” means. Does that mean we should allow faster computing to completely take over our Immigration System and thereby turn ourselves into another entirely different country? I don't think it does.