- 13/08/2024
- Category: Press Release
Yogyakarta (8/8/24) – In this modern era, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly and rapidly growing, as its use is simultaneously expanding. The existence of AI is sought to be a solution to various societal challenges, including the issue of sustainability. Participating in discussing this issue, the Center for Digital Society (CfDS) UGM held the 115th series of Digital Future Discussion (Difussion) entitled “AI and Sustainability: How are the Challenges and Innovations in Indonesia?”. The event was held on Thursday (8/8) and featured Falah Muhammad and Hilman Nurjaman, CfDS research assistants. The event was broadcast live through the official YouTube account of CfDS UGM at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2lH1OwFQ7s.
Falah Muhammad discussed that current approaches to sustainable development, such as natural resource management, environmental monitoring, and emission reduction still utilize manual methods that tend to be inefficient. He argues that AI’s ability to rapidly learn large amounts of data, make fairly accurate predictions, and make data-driven decisions can greatly support sustainable development endeavors. Falah also stated that sustainable development using AI-based methods has the potential to increase efficiency in managing natural resources. AI can support the optimization of energy use, sustainable product development, and health monitoring. He explained the current policies on sustainable technology in Indonesia, such as the Government Regulation Bill (RPP) on National Energy Policy (KEN) and the New Energy and Renewable Energy Legislation Bill (EBET).
Falah also elaborated on some of the challenges of implementing sustainable AI in Indonesia, such as high costs, inadequate digital infrastructure, unclear regulatory framework, and lack of skilled workforce. “Data centers and cloud infrastructure in Indonesia are still very limited, while the use of AI technology requires a lot of power. Thus, the application of AI-based technology for now can not yet be massive,” said Falah. He also proposed several policy recommendations, such as conducting more research on the potential of AI in supporting key sectors of sustainable development, investing in AI-based development and construction, increasing training programs on AI development and application to improve practical skills, and so on.
Hilman Nurjaman discusses the development of AI in education. The use of AI has been applied in Indonesian education, as stated in the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2020-2045 which supports the adoption of AI in various sectors and includes plans to improve digital literacy, ICT infrastructure, and collaboration with the private sector in the education aspect. This is also evident in one of the focuses of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of Indonesia, which collaborate to encourage the development of digital infrastructure and literacy through teacher training, procurement of ICT devices, and digital literacy programs for students.
Hilman explained the challenges faced by Indonesia in implementing AI. One of the challenges experienced by Indonesia relates to the digital divide, where access to technology devices and the internet is still uneven between urban and rural areas. Indonesia also deals with challenges related to the lack of digital skills, which hampers the adoption of digital technology and AI. He also proposed several strategies for sustainability in education with AI, such as investing in technology infrastructure, promoting teacher training, creating an inclusive environment for learners, and promoting equal access to technology. Hilman offered several policy recommendations, such as encouraging collaboration between the government and private sector to invest in ICT infrastructure, creating policies that support the application of AI technology in educational institutions, and improving people’s digital literacy. “For example, regulations that support technological innovation in education, and also financial support such as providing funds and incentives for schools to adopt AI technology in their teaching and learning activities that are more inclusive and efficient,” said Hilman.
Author: Carmelia Gaby
