Indonesia is developing a comprehensive AI strategy that extends from energy and infrastructure to talent and applications, with ambitions to become a global AI player and strengthen domestic capability across sectors.
Indonesia is building an artificial intelligence strategy that aims well beyond consumer adoption. Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Affairs Nezar Patria said in Yogyakarta on Thursday that the government wants the country to move up the value chain and take part in the systems that power AI, rather than remain a downstream user of imported tools. He framed that ambition as a “full stack” approach covering energy, infrastructure, chips, talent and applications, with current policy focused on practical deployment while longer-term capabilities are developed.
That emphasis on application is consistent with the ministry’s earlier view that uptake alone is not enough. In a discussion in Jakarta in July, Nezar said the real test is not whether people use AI, but whether they can use it well enough to change outcomes in education, healthcare, finance and government. Officials have since described a set of strategic steps to narrow the country’s AI capability gap, including stronger coordination, clearer rules and more responsible deployment across sectors.
The government is also looking at industrial policy as part of its AI plans. Nezar said Indonesia intends to use its critical mineral reserves and downstream processing strategy to support entry into the semiconductor supply chain, which would help build capacity in the infrastructure and chip layers that underpin advanced computing. The ministry is also drafting a National Roadmap for AI Development, aimed at attracting investment and aligning regulation with industry needs. Earlier reporting from ANTARA and other Indonesian outlets said the government has discussed national compute clusters and digital talent as part of this wider push, underlining the scale of the challenge in turning ambition into domestic capability.
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