In August 2020, Indonesia published its National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (Stranas KA), setting out an ambitious vision to advance the country's economy through AI leadership by 2045. The strategy aligns with Indonesia's broader economic and technological development plans, including Vision Indonesia 2024 and the "Making Indonesia 4.0" programme launched in 2018.
Key Priority Areas
Stranas KA outlines five national priorities where AI is expected to have the greatest impact:
1. Health services: Accelerating plans for smart hospitals and health infrastructure
2. Bureaucratic reform: Implementing digital services for citizen-centric public service
3. Education and research: Aiding online schooling and bridging the digital divide
4. Food security: Enhancing smart agriculture, fisheries, and natural resource management
5. Mobility and smart cities: Facilitating the development of 98 smart cities and 416 smart districts
The strategy identifies four key focus areas: Ethics and Policy, Talent Development, Infrastructure and Data, and Industrial Research and Innovation.
The National Strategy emphasises that Indonesian AI policy should be based on Pancasila values - the philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state. This includes principles such as belief in one God, just and civilised humanity, Indonesian unity, democracy, and social justice.
The strategy highlights the importance of establishing public trust through transparency, social and ecological welfare, robustness and technical safety, diversity, justice, and non-discrimination. It emphasises that AI should be reliable, safe, open, and accountable.
A significant development in Indonesia's AI governance landscape was the passage of the country's first Personal Data Protection (PDP) Law in September 2022. The law, which draws inspiration from the EU's GDPR, includes provisions on automated profiling, stricter requirements for the financial services sector, and special categories of data.
The PDP Law mandates the establishment of a Data Protection Authority (DPA) by October 2024, which will be responsible for implementing the law and reporting directly to the President. Until the DPA is established, the Minister of Communication and Informatics (MoCI) oversees compliance with the data protection regime.
In December 2023, the Indonesian Minister of Communication and Information issued a Circular Letter on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. This document provides guidance for businesses on preparing internal policies on data and AI ethics, further integrating AI considerations within the data protection framework.
Indonesia is actively pursuing smart city initiatives, with plans for 98 smart cities and 416 smart districts under the 100 Smart Cities Plan. The Jakarta Smart City (JSC) initiative, launched to address urban challenges, uses AI to tackle issues related to governance, people, living, mobility, economy, and environment.
However, concerns have been raised about the lack of proper legal frameworks and independent monitoring mechanisms for these smart city initiatives.
Indonesia has endorsed the G20 AI Principles and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI. The country participated in the first AI Safety Summit in November 2023 and endorsed the Bletchley Declaration, committing to international cooperation efforts on AI.
This country report is our interpretation and summary of the "CAIDP Artificial Intelligence & Democratic Values Index 2023". The full report can be found here - https://www.caidp.org/reports/aidv-2023/