Vice Chairman of the Commission X House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia as well as Advisory Board Member for the Master’s Program in Development Studies, Dr. Ir. Hetifah Sjaifudian, M.P.P., spoke at the seminar and delivered a presentation entitled "The Prospect of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Government Policy Making".

She further explained digitalization, which is the process of switching from a manual to a digital recording. With the support of artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning and deep learning, more effective policymaking by governments can be achieved. These policies include data analysis, the use of chatbots and virtual assistants, and language processing, followed by surveillance and law enforcement.

In her belief, digitally based technology and AI policies are beneficial, as they cover operational cost savings, service improvement, and data-driven decision-making. This is shown in the implementation of AI technology in other countries, such as crowd control in France to political policies with algorithms in Denmark.

The wide use of AI in Indonesia has been applied in multiple fields, such as health, transportation, education, public security, environmental management, economy, and public employment. One of the examples is the use of AI in data processing to overcome the recent Covid-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, Dr. Hetifah noticed the uneven distribution of internet access for education in rural areas as well as the low number of digital literacy. "In response, the government is expected to take some more strategic steps, such as providing free internet access, developing online learning platforms, not to mention reinforcing digital connectivity," she said.

Towards the end of the presentation, Dr. Hetifah conveyed a number of recommendations for SAPPD ITB, including an AI development curriculum for public policy, AI training and workshops for policy practitioners, cooperation with the industry and AI experts, applied research in the field of AI for public policy, community engagement, handling AI bias and ethics, monitoring and evaluating the success of AI policies, as well as partnerships with the government and AI related organizations.

Reporter: Hafsah Restu Nurul Annafi (Urban and Regional Planning, 2019)
Translator: Kezia Hosana
Editor: Ayesha Lativa Mafaza (Postharvest Technology)