AI and Ethical Responsibility: Lessons from the Kalisari PPSU Case
In a corner of East Jakarta, a new reality has just been “created”. Not through actual fieldwork, but through AI-based image manipulation.
The alleged case of documentation tampering by PPSU officers in Kalisari Ward may seem trivial—just a doctored work report to make it appear completed.
Yet in truth, this incident marks something far more fundamental: we are entering an era where reality is no longer reported, but produced.
If previously photos and documentation were relatively trustworthy evidence, now they can be engineered easily, quickly, and convincingly.
The boundary between fact and fabrication becomes blurred. In such situations, the issue is no longer merely lying, but the collapse of the foundation of trust.
When reality can be manipulated, truth loses its footing.
Even more concerning, this manipulation did not occur in a high-tech space far from everyday life, but at the level closest to society—public services.
What appears as a work report could merely be a simulation designed to satisfy the system, not the reality that truly occurred.
This case should not be read as merely an administrative violation, but as a symptom of a moral crisis in the digital age.
Because when people start feeling satisfied with “convincing appearances” and no longer care about the truth itself, what is threatened is not only the integrity of work, but overall social trust.
It is at this point that an urgent question arises: amid increasingly sophisticated technological advancements, are humans still loyal to the truth, or are they becoming ever more adept at hiding it?
This question becomes even more relevant when viewed in the context of Indonesia today.
Data from the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) shows that the number of internet users has reached more than 220 million people, or about 80 percent of the population.
Meanwhile, the DataReportal 2025 report notes that more than half of Indonesia’s population is active on social media, with average internet usage reaching more than seven hours per day.