December 7, 2023
JAKARTA – The Communications and Information Ministry is currently finalizing the draft on a regulation to deal with the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), and is set to issue it before the end of the year.
“We hope [the circular] can be [issued] this December. Could be next week, but likely this December,” said Deputy Communications and Information Minister Nezar Patria as quoted by Tempo.
Nezar said in drafting the regulation, which will be in the form of a circular, the ministry had consulted several stakeholders and civil society organizations. He said that the ministry hoped the circular could deal with the ethical aspects of AI in Indonesia, so that it could be beneficial for the public.
According to Nezar the circular will not be binding and it will serve more like a guideline for the development of the AI ecosystem for entrepreneurs and the public, including the design, progress and implementation of AI in any sector.
He added that the circular was the ministry’s initial step to control and manage adoption of AI instead of issuing a stricter regulation.
If anything, Indonesia is currently exploring and innovating the utilization of AI and the circular is designed to curb any potential harm from the use of AI in the future.
Nezar said that for stricter regulation regarding the use of digital technology, Indonesia currently has the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law and the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Law.
“The circular will be used more as a normative reference that can be adopted by the AI development ecosystem,” said Nezar.