As AI takes on content creation and data-crunching, Indonesia gears up to regulate industry

JAKARTA: “Ibu (Mother) Rini” gives advice to the young about relationships and health on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
The 50-year-old has more than 230,000 followers and has amassed millions of likes for her videos, which teach viewers how to appreciate their partners, among other topics.
She also holds live streams that can attract more than 2,500 viewers in just an hour.
At first glance, she looks like any other Indonesian influencer creating content in the comfort of her own room. But she is, in fact, a virtual host powered by artificial intelligence. 
Her maker, Avatara Labs, is transparent about her origins, clearly stating on her accounts that she is an AI creation. 
“We are not trying to fool our audience. That’s one of the ethical things that we need to do … saying to the audience … if you are interacting with him or her, that is actually AI,” said the company’s co-founder and CEO Ananto Wibisono.
Its practices are in line with a circular that Indonesia’s Communications and Informatics Ministry issued in December last year on the ethics of AI, urging businesses to uphold values such as transparency, credibility and accountability.
AI is still in its early stage of development in Indonesia with huge potential to increase productivity and boost the economy.
Based on data from global management consulting firm Kearney, AI is projected to contribute US$366 billion to Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, accounting for an estimated 12 per cent of the country’s economy.
Indonesia launched a national strategy for developing AI in 2020 to set the direction for the role of technology in the country. 
To improve guidance on AI, the country is preparing regulations to establish clear guidelines on its use and issues concerning ethics and data security.
The Communication and Information Technology Ministry said the proposed regulations are under a review involving experts and stakeholders.
The rules should ensure that humans are in control of the use of AI and are included in the design of all AI development, said Hokky Situngkir, the ministry’s director general of applications and informatics.
Some industry players believe there is an urgent need for rules to ensure data security, given that AI is being used to extract sensitive information.
For instance, Olin – an AI assistant developed to help food and beverage (F&B) firms – crunches numbers from merchants to forecast sales, prevent fraud, and analyse customers’ behaviour.
Gunawan Woen, co-founder of a firm that provides software solutions to F&B businesses, said that in using Olin, his company has taken steps against a security breach.
“We structure our data like a safe deposit in a bank, so that the data of each merchant is stored securely (in different) locations,” he said.
However, some businesses, like venture capital firm Alpha JWC Ventures, are still finding their footing amid rapid AI development.
Its co-founder Jefrey Joe said his firm has been engaging in dialogue and employees have made data privacy and security a “top priority”.