Kasikornbank and Accenture highlight AI as a transformative force for organizations, emphasizing it won't replace people but will help create productivity and value.
Kasikornbank and Accenture participated in the ACMA Business Forum 2026, highlighting that the key to using AI is not replacing humans, but accelerating work redesign to upgrade human capabilities, create added value, and drive business growth.
On September 8, 2026, the Association of Capital Market Academy Students (ACMA) organized the ACMA Business Forum 2569 under the theme “Empowering People and Building Resilience.” Mr. Rungruang Sukkerdkitpiboon, President of Kasikornbank, and Ms. Pathama Chandrakul, Managing Director of Edcenture Thailand, participated in a panel discussion on the topic “Empowering People, Supporting Thai Businesses.”
Kasikornbank uses AI to put customers at the center.
They clarified that they are not here to replace people, but to enhance their capabilities.
Mr. Rungruang Sukkerdkitpibul, President of Kasikornbank Public Company Limited, stated that the key to implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in banking is not to become an AI-powered organization, but to address the true needs of customers. The bank's role is to act as a robust enabler for these needs.
The primary role of banks remains providing lending and deposit services. The most important aspect is leveraging AI to improve efficiency, accuracy, and precision. This involves using technology to accurately analyze loan application data, shortening and accelerating the loan application process.
“The use of AI in work processes is not aimed at reducing the number of employees, but rather at addressing the shortage of skilled workers ready to enter the banking system. This is because younger generations are more independent, showing interest in careers as content creators and less inclined towards banking roles compared to previous generations. Therefore, a key challenge for banks is empowering the workforce that remains within the system. As Thai society transitions into an aging population, AI will serve as a tool to assist and enhance the capabilities of these workers, ensuring they continue to meet customer needs effectively.”
Mr. Rungruang further stated that there is no fixed formula for developing AI technology within an organization, but rather a process that all executives and employees must learn together. The most significant advantage of AI is its faster learning curve compared to the past, as we can immediately search for and inquire about past trials and errors. This means that the current generation doesn't need to start the entire process of trial and error from scratch.
To reskill and upskill people within an organization to prepare for the AI era, it is necessary to change the organizational culture to view AI as a tool to assist in work.
"Everyone wants amulets, so they go and acquire them to wear. But what you need to do is more than just wear them; you must practice Dharma. Wearing an amulet doesn't mean you'll instantly attain enlightenment, but it helps to build morale and makes practicing Dharma easier. It's the same with AI; we need to consistently train and use it."
However, while the introduction of AI may not directly replace humans, it will certainly change the key performance indicators (KPIs) used to measure organizational performance.
"In the past, employees who could create beautifully presented slides might be recognized as highly skilled. However, the aesthetics of the slides are no longer the primary focus because AI can handle that quickly. The performance evaluation criteria have shifted to the ability to communicate and convey the key information, processed by AI, in a way that is easily understood and ultimately leads to customer satisfaction."
Mr. Rungruang stated that Kasikornbank's demographic structure comprises diverse age groups, and the average age is trending upwards. However, a significant advantage of leveraging AI is its ability to narrow the knowledge gap between generations, enabling employees of different ages to easily and quickly exchange and share knowledge. This, in turn, makes workforce diversity a positive force driving organizational growth.
"The most important thing in managing people in this era is to change the organizational culture, change the way we measure performance, and enhance the potential of our personnel to drive everyone to dare to step out of their fears and try new things."
Regarding concerns that AI will replace human jobs, the truth is that the jobs replaced by AI are not entirely replaced, but only partially (partially replaced).
"Most of the jobs that AI is replacing are those that weren't enjoyable in the first place, such as the process of gathering large amounts of data or conducting research and data retrieval. However, the true value of these jobs lies in the subsequent steps, which involve asking questions and conducting in-depth analysis to gain insights. Critical thinking and creativity remain crucial roles for humans."
Mr. Rungruang stated that, in terms of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), SME entrepreneurs currently have very low financial costs, only about 5-6%. However, the main costs of their businesses tend to fall on raw materials and the supply chain.
Therefore, Kasikornbank focuses on helping SMEs understand and learn how to use AI as a tool for cost and supply chain management, while simultaneously strengthening the workforce of SMEs, which are also facing labor shortages.
“Banks prefer their customers to be healthy because when customers are healthy, we can provide them with services more easily. Banks don't like making phone calls to collect overdue payments; instead, they prefer to approach customers to talk, inquire about and assist with business expansion, entering new markets, or ask how the bank can support them. This is true customer-centric approach, using AI as the main driving force in operations.”
Mr. Rungruang advised SME entrepreneurs that in this era of volatility, driven by external factors, geopolitics, and major global trends (megatrends/macro trends), these forces are inevitably forcing changes in the future of business competition.
However, entrepreneurs shouldn't worry too much about change, because change is inevitable. The important thing is to learn to live with change and create new opportunities within those circumstances.
"In the future, businesses may no longer compete on who can produce the cheapest product, but rather on who can create the most added value and provide the best customer satisfaction."
"AI is not just a tool": Organizations must integrate technology and people.
Towards redesigning work and creating measurable value.
Ms. Pathama Chandraksa, Managing Director of Ecenture Thailand, commented on the adoption of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in organizations, stating that what businesses need to focus on today is not just access to technology, but the ability to transform technology into productivity—the ability to create high-quality results by utilizing time and resources most efficiently, thereby generating real value for the organization.
Currently, organizations with investment capital have similar access to AI technology or new tools like Copilot. Therefore, having the same technology as competitors does not necessarily mean an organization has a competitive advantage. A survey found that 82% of organizations increased their budget for AI investment, regardless of the provider of the technology or product, but only 23% of them reported seeing clear value from their investment.
This situation reflects what is known as "The Value Gap," or the gap between technology investments and the business value an organization receives. AI is shifting towards becoming "Table Stakes," fundamental technologies that every organization needs. The difference between organizations isn't whether or not they have AI, but rather how they can leverage it to create benefits and competitive advantages.
Integrating AI into existing work processes while organizations retain traditional thinking, decision-making patterns, and work structures may speed up operations, but it doesn't necessarily mean significant structural changes or increased productivity.
Therefore, what organizations should do is not simply "automate" or use AI to speed up existing tasks, but rather "reinvent," or rethink and design new ways of working. This should begin with the question: even though technology can analyze data faster and more efficiently, does the organization still need to use the old business model or work processes?
The key to organizations being able to create value from AI lies in "Work Redesign," or redesigning work processes, coupled with "People," or personnel, which are crucial elements at the heart of the transformation.
Ms. Pathama stated that the experience and understanding of people within the organization still play a crucial role because, even though AI can process and find information quickly, people are still the ones who understand the context of the work and see the real problems that occur in the process. The concept is, "AI knows where the needle is, but people know what is broken," meaning that while AI may know where the data is located, people know which part of the system is malfunctioning or what in the work process is not working in practice.
Therefore, personnel experience is a crucial factor in work redesign because those involved in the actual workflow can identify which steps should be eliminated, which steps are redundant, or which approval processes are no longer necessary with the help of technology.
For an approach to creating value from technology, the fundamental factors begin with AI and a strong digital core, acting as "enablers" or supporting factors. This is followed by Work Redesign and People as "multipliers" of success, leading to the ultimate result: "Measurable Value," or business value that can be truly measured.
Therefore, organizational AI investment should not end with the purchase of technology, but should consider aspects ranging from redesigning workflows and developing human resource capabilities to measuring tangible business results.
“AI is just a tool, while ‘people’ are the key mechanism that will bring their experience and business understanding to design new ways of working, so that technology can work effectively with people and transform investments in AI into productivity and real long-term value,” said Ms. Pathama.
However, with AI becoming more capable, the role of Human Leadership is becoming increasingly important. While AI can quickly extract insights, summarize data, create infographics, and provide signals and alternatives, it still cannot replace humans in three key areas: Intent (defining direction and what the organization deems unacceptable), Judgment (using judgment to refine AI's responses), and Accountability (responsibility for the results of its decisions).
For the AI era, the focus is on three key skills : Curiosity (the desire to learn and the courage to ask questions), Courage (the ability to make decisions), and Empathy (understanding the impact on others). The view is that the goal of technology is to “scale human potential,” not simply to replace people.
It is believed that there are no shortcuts or one-size-fits-all formulas for transformation that can be copied entirely from one organization and applied to another, because each organization has different contexts and limitations.
For small organizations, the focus should be on problems that create the highest impact, such as generating new revenue or increasing efficiency, and then using AI to solve those problems. Medium-sized organizations should reduce silos between departments and look for enterprise value that connects the entire organization. Large organizations, on the other hand, must deal with legacy systems and focus on reinventing their business models, rather than simply integrating technology into existing work processes, but rather redesigning tasks based on the knowledge of frontline employees.
"Measuring the effectiveness of AI shouldn't just be about the number of employees who have been trained or can write Prompts, but rather how the technology adds value to the business and whether it can be scaled up," said Ms. Pathama.
At the same time, organizations must invest in developing their personnel to have the capability to change, including their mindset, decision-making skills, and lifelong learning. Pathama herself has undergone 100 hours of customized AI training and uses three AI agents to help manage profit and loss statements, performance, and customer satisfaction to support management. Therefore, the key to transformation is not just about adopting AI, but about integrating technology with people and designing new business models to create measurable value.
Read related news
