Indonesia National AI Strategy published this month

Credit: Antaranews Indonesia’s National AI Strategy, now known as Stranas KA was launched in a live TV broadcast marking the country’s National Technology Awakening Day ( via CarringtonMalin.com )

The Indonesia National AI Strategy, now known as Stranas KA ( Strategi Nasional Kecerdasan Artifisial) , has been published. The new strategy was announced by the Minister of Research and Technology and head of the BRIN (the National Research and Innovation Agency) Bambang PS Brodjonegoro in an television address made last Monday to mark the country’s 25th National Technology Awakening Day. The minister also launched an electronic innovation catalogue, helping Indonesian technology developers to market their offerings and sell to government procurement offices.
Transforming Indonesia into a Fourth Industrial Revolution economy has become focus for the government over the past few years and the necessity of creating a digital-savvy workforce has become a top priority. Stranas KA aims to tie together many of the country’s digital initiatives and maps closely to Visi Indonesia 2045 , the country’s broad economic, social, governance and technology development strategy. The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Framework provides an at-a-glance view of how these different goals are held in context.
Stranas KA aims to support five national priorities, where the government believes that artificial intelligence could have the biggest impact on national progress and outcomes.
Health services  — With 268 million people living across 6,000 of Indonesia’s total 17,504 islands, delivering a consistent standard of healthcare is a national challenge. The archipelago also faces increased risks from global disease outbreaks such as SARS and, recently, Covid-19. The country’s response to the pandemic has already somewhat accelerated plans for smart hospitals and health security infrastructure.
Bureaucractic reform  — With a civilian civil service of about 4 million, reforming the government’s highly centralised administration remains a significant challenge. Indonesia is lagged in implementation of digital services, according to the United Nations E-Government Development Index (EGDI) , ranking below Borneo, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. President Joko Widodo has promised to create a citizen-centric digitised service government (Pemerintahan Digital Melayani) in the next five years.
Education and research  — Education is integral to Visi Indonesia 2045 and the move towards online schooling during the Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare the country’s digital divide. The pressures of the digital economy are also recognised by development plans. According to the government, Indonesia needs a digital workforce of 113 million by 2030–2035.
Food security  — According to President Widodo, food security remains Indonesia’s top priority and the Food Security Agency...