Ministry pushes for talent, infrastructure boost to build sovereign AI

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia must urgently develop a parallel ecosystem of elite digital talent and robust computing infrastructure to achieve national sovereignty in artificial intelligence (AI), Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Nezar Patria stated.

He asserted that AI development cannot rely on technology alone but requires a holistic ecosystem that integrates digital talent, computing infrastructure, and the semiconductor supply chain.

Speaking following a meeting with the GreatAsic/Indonesia Chip Design Collaborative Center (ICDEC) in Jakarta, Nezar emphasized that microchips have mutated from mere hardware components into critical instruments of national security and geopolitical leverage.

"Chips and semiconductors are truly strategic for countries seeking to enter the AI industry and the global AI supply chain. Between humans and infrastructure, we need to work together, in parallel,” Nezar said in his statement, Thursday.

Amid intensifying global technology wars, major powers are racing to lock down advanced semiconductors and the rare minerals required to power them.

While Indonesia sits on vast reserves of these critical minerals, Nezar cautioned that the country will gain zero economic or strategic leverage if it continues to outsource the processing and manufacturing stages to foreign nations.

To bridge this gap, the ministry is calling for international collaborations that facilitate technology transfer to maximize local value creation and generate greater economic benefits for the country.

"Through collaboration, we can achieve knowledge transfer, and we can also achieve value creation from the process," Nezar explained.

Acknowledging the immense capital and technical hurdles of semiconductor fabrication, Nezar conceded that Indonesia cannot build a closed-loop AI ecosystem in isolation.

The path forward, he argued, relies on forging a powerful regional AI cluster within Southeast Asia, which boasts a large market, strategic resources, and close cultural proximity.

"If we want to build sovereign AI, we cannot do it alone. Because everything is interconnected and connected," Nezar noted.

Looking ahead, Nezar revealed that the Indonesian government is already preparing risk mitigation frameworks for next-generation technologies beyond AI, including quantum computing, which is anticipated to upend global data processing and cybersecurity standards.

As a regulator, Nezar stressed that the government’s priority is to construct proactive guardrails, ensuring that the country’s rapid digital transformation remains secure while yielding tangible economic benefits for the public.

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Translator: Livia Kristianti, Yashinta Difa

Editor: Azis Kurmala

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