JEAIL > Volume 19(1); 2026 > Regional Focus & Controversies
Research Paper
Published online: May 30, 2026
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2026.19.1.07

Human Rights-Based AI Governance in Thailand: A Functional-Equivalence Approach Beyond the EU AI Act

Phillip Y. Freiberg & Michael J. Harris & Parot Ratnapinda
International College of Digital Innovation (ICDI)
Chiang Mai University, 239 Nimmanhaemin Road, Suthep, Mueang, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 50200
Corresponding Author: phillip.freiberg@cmu.ac.th

ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/liceInha University Law School, 100 Inharo, Michuhol-gu, Incheon 22212 Korea. / nses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
Middle-income states like Thailand face a structural dilemma: EU-style AI regulation exceeds administrative capacity, while voluntary models fail to protect fundamental rights. Leveraging Thailand’s 2025 BRICS Partner status, this study proposes a Thai–BRICS Hybrid Governance Model based on functional modularity. This approach avoids wholesale transplantation, instead selectively adapting regulatory mechanisms from BRICS nations to fit Thailand’s specific legal and fiscal constraints. The model addresses five critical gaps: infrastructure dependency, algorithmic opacity, accountability deficits, institutional fragmentation, and labor displacement. The study’s central thesis is that rights remain symbolic without developmental sovereignty, the material control over digital infrastructure. By prioritizing sovereign capacity, Thailand can ensure that algorithmic accountability is enforceable rather than aspirational. This framework reconciles human rights with developmental goals, avoiding the prohibitive compliance burdens seen in previous GDPR-inspired legislation and positioning infrastructure as a prerequisite for genuine rights protection.

Keywords : BRICS, Artificial Intelligence, Thailand, Digital Sovereignty, Functional Modularity, Human Rights, Legal Transplantation

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