technology

Indonesia Ready To Lead ASEAN Digital Economy Through AI Optimization

Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital (Wamenkomdigi) Nezar Patria emphasized Indonesia's commitment and readiness to become a leader in ASEAN's digital economic growth through regional collaboration and strengthening the ethics of developing artificial intelligence (AI). 

According to him, Indonesia plays an important role in the ASEAN digital ecosystem with a population of 280 million people or around 40 percent of the ASEAN population, Indonesia also contributes greatly to the value of the region's digital economy. 

"McKinsey noted that the growth of the digital economy in ASEAN is estimated to reach 1 trillion US dollars in 2030, and 366 billion US dollars of which comes from Indonesia," said Nezar in the "2025 Indonesia Strategic Engagement Workshop Series" held by the US-ASEAN Business Council at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Central Jakarta, Tuesday. 

Furthermore, Nezar stated that the Indonesian government in improving the digital economy does not only want to increase the use of technology, but also becomes a strategic player at the global level, including in terms of developing the latest technologies such as AI. 

To realize this dream, Indonesia has prepared various things starting from preparing digital infrastructure to preparing regulations as a guide for the ethics of AI development. 

Currently, according to Nezar Patria, Indonesia has recorded an increase in internet penetration of up to 80 percent, a significant increase compared to five years ago which was still below 70 percent. 

However, there are still infrastructure challenges that are of concern to the government, including the acceleration of migration to the 5G network. 

"Currently, 97 percent of Indonesia's residential areas have been reached by 4G technology. But now we are moving towards 5G," he said. 

Therefore, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology is trying to build adequate infrastructure, good governance, and guarantees of sustainability, inclusiveness, and public trust. 

Regarding AI regulations, Nezar Patria specifically explained that Indonesia has completed the Readiness Assessment Methodology for AI (RAM-AI). This makes Indonesia the first country in ASEAN to complete the document. "RAM-AI is useful for seeing the level of readiness for adopting artificial intelligence technology in Indonesia. Other countries such as Malaysia even use our documents as comparative material," he explained. 

Nezar emphasized that the government also chose to implement ethics that are more flexible and friendly to innovation in the development of AI technology. "Ethics regulate basic norms that can be more adaptive to innovation, as long as they remain in line with global ethical principles," he said. 

Nezar Patria hopes that this forum can be a forum for exchanging views, discussing real challenges, and developing a collaborative framework between the government and industry players. "We hope that this discussion will be an important part of the preparation of regulations, as well as a joint forum to discuss issues that may have previously had no channels," he said. 

Tag: ASEAN Digital Economy Nezar Patria Wamenkomdigi