As Indonesia moves forward on the AI journey, the report serves as both a roadmap and a call to action for all sectors to collaborate to shape an ethical and inclusive AI ecosystem. The key findings and recommendations provide a comprehensive overview of Indonesia’s state of AI readiness and the steps that need to be taken to ensure that AI benefits all citizens.
Key Findings: Indonesia’s AI Landscape
The report identifies several crucial areas for Indonesia’s AI readiness, including:
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Economic and sociocultural impact: Concerns about possible labor displacement emerged as a pressing issue. Regional differences emerged, with rural areas focusing on the impact on employment, while stakeholders in urban areas highlighted the need for responsible use of AI.
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Risks associated with AI: Despite the diversity of ethnic groups in Indonesia, awareness of AI’s potential to reinforce prejudice and discrimination is relatively low, highlighting the need for increased public education.
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Research funding: Compared to neighboring countries, AI research remains underfunded, representing a critical gap in Indonesia’s AI landscape.
Key policy recommendations:
The report presents several key policy recommendations, particularly in the following areas:
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Regulatory implementation: UNESCO supports the development of regulations to ensure ethical and responsible governance of AI, compliance with global benchmarks and future regulations based on the circular letter remaining comprehensive and up to date with global consensus.
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Institutional framework: Create a National Agency for Artificial Intelligence to coordinate AI-related policies, set standards and ensure cross-sector coherence. This entity is expected to facilitate collaboration between government, the private sector, academia and civil society, guiding investment and regulation in the development of AI.
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Capacity building: Ensure equitable access to AI education, resources and infrastructure, particularly for researchers and startups outside the capital.
About the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence:
Through its unique mandate, UNESCO has led the international effort to ensure that science and technology develop within strong ethical safeguards for decades. UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence was launched and adopted by 194 Member States in November 2021. The Recommendation is the first global normative instrument withPolicy areaswhich enable policy makers to translate fundamental values and principles into actions in data governance, environment and ecosystems, gender, education and research, as well as health and social well-being, among other areas.
About the Readiness Assessment Methodology:
THEReadiness Assessment Methodology (RAM)includes a range of quantitative and qualitative questions designed to gather information on different dimensions related to a country’s AI ecosystem, including legal and regulatory, social and cultural, economic, scientific and educational dimensions, as well as technological and infrastructural.RAM is currently implemented in 60 countries around the world. The implementation of RAM in Indonesia is supported by the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation through the project titled “Harnessing the Power of AI to Promote Equal Opportunities in the Digital World”.
