Indonesia plans to embed AI in key programmes, including $15 billion free-meal drive, document shows
Indonesia plans to embed AI in key programmes, including $15 billion free-meal drive, document shows
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/exclusive-indonesia-plans-embed-ai-081536226.html
Publish Date: 2026-06-22 04:15:00
Source Domain: www.yahoo.com
By Stanley Widianto
JAKARTA, June 22 (Reuters) – Indonesia plans to embed artificial intelligence in some key government programmes including its $15 billion free meals plan, according to a presidential regulation draft seen by Reuters, part of a strategy that the government believes could lift its gross domestic product by 12% by 2030.
Indonesia’s progress on AI has been slow when compared with Singapore and Malaysia. They are pushing to establish themselves as development hubs, securing billions of dollars from global tech firms that are seeking to build critical infrastructure to meet growing demand for cloud and AI services.
The presidential regulation lays out a roadmap for ministries and regional governments to adopt AI from 2026 to 2029, targeting “economic growth through development, facilitation and use of AI especially in the president’s priority programmes.”
The draft has not been previously reported upon. It is currently awaiting President Prabowo Subianto’s signature.
The government says in its draft that another goal is to make Indonesia more competitive in AI use regionally and globally.
Companies like Meta Platforms, IBM and Microsoft contributed to the draft, said Wahyudi Djafar, a tech analyst who wrote parts of the regulation and is a member of the AI government task force. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In 2024, Microsoft said it would invest $1.7 billion over a few years in expanding cloud services and AI in Indonesia.
Analysts say Indonesia is not ready to be an AI developer, owing to a dearth of infrastructure including chips, as well as a lack of AI skills in the workforce.
Derwin Suhartono, a professor of artificial intelligence at Bina Nusantara University in Jakarta, said Indonesia has yet to be competitive in the AI race and “may stay as a consumer of products that foreign companies sell to.”
He added that the government can use AI in its programmes with a structured and…
