Regulatory gaps in AI adoption
JAKARTA: Indonesia's digital service governance still lacks specific regulations to guide the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a joint report by the Communications and Digital Ministry and the United Kingdom.
The AI Policy Dialogue Country Report, released on Monday, pointed out that the enforcement and institutional coordination of the Personal Data Protection Law and the One Data Initiative remain weak.
The archipelago is also grappling with unequal digital infrastructure, with 57 million people, or nearly 20% of the population, still lacking reliable Internet access.
'Gaps in connectivity continue to create an uneven playing field for AI development,' the report stated.
South-East Asia's largest digital economy is also facing a digital talent gap, with a need for nine million additional tech workers by 2030, as previously reported in the jointly published Readiness Assessment Methodology report by the government and Unesco.
Furthermore, AI innovation in the country's digital ecosystem remains fragmented across government, academia and the private sector.
'The absence of clear institutional mandates and insufficient government facilitation limits collaboration and slows progress across the AI value chain, from research and development to commercialisation,' the report noted.
The ministry is set to use the report as the foundation for the national AI road map, which is slated to be unveiled for public discussion in August. The formulation of the report involved various stakeholders, including industry players, academia and civil society.
'As a follow-up, the Communications and Digital Ministry will use the results of this dialogue as a foundation for concrete and forward-looking AI policy recommendations aligned with national interests,' Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Nezar Patria said during the launch.
He explained that the report aimed to identify two key areas: the building blocks necessary for Indonesia to achieve meaningful AI adoption, and several use cases, challenges and the impacts of AI adoption in six key sectors.
These sectors include eCommerce, banking and finance, healthcare, education and sustainability.
Indonesia has seen a rapid increase in AI investment, with national spending on AI solutions almost quadrupling from 1.38 trillion rupiah in 2022 to a projected 5.36 trillion rupiah by 2027.
However, the report found that while national AI spending is on the rise, it has yet to translate into balanced sectoral readiness, with AI adoption progressing at different paces across sectors.
Sectors such as eCommerce and banking and finance showed more AI adoption, while others, particularly healthcare, remained in 'exploratory or pilot phases' and continue to lag behind, the report added. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
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