Thailand has always been quick to catch up on technology trends. There's already this harmless looking NDID, a centralised digital ID that "improves convenience" on my online banking app. Transfer of funds and other online financial transactions in Thailand requires facial recognition, so the Thais are a step ahead of most western countries there. Add to all of this humble noodle carts acceptance of QR code payments, and we're a very long way from the third world. We're a lot closer to total state control than we like to think.