AI Infrastructure Must Be Strengthened to Boost Competitiveness: Nezar

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Nezar Patria stated that Indonesia needs to strengthen the foundational infrastructure supporting artificial intelligence (AI) so that it does not merely become a user, but is able to take a role in the global AI supply chain. He assessed that global AI competition has shifted from application development to mastery of supporting infrastructure such as energy, data centres, chips, computing, and talent. “We have been preoccupied with playing downstream, but we have forgotten the upstream. In fact, the downstream is just the final product, which is perhaps more suitable for countries that position themselves as markets, while the upstream, this AI infrastructure, is very important,” Nezar said in a statement confirmed in Jakarta on Thursday. According to him, Indonesia has great potential to enter the global supply chain. One path is through the wealth of available natural resources, such as silica sand. “Indonesia’s potential to enter the global supply chain is quite large. If we look at the infrastructure needed to make semiconductors, silica sand is required. There are approximately 340 million tonnes of silica sand reserves in Indonesia,” said Nezar. “So, I think downstreaming is not just a slogan. Downstreaming is the downstream processing of minerals and other materials. This is a strategic step that must be executed by all stakeholders in Indonesia, especially in the electronics industry, which is currently moving very dynamically,” he continued. Nezar hopes that collaboration among stakeholders in the infrastructure sector can increase Indonesia’s bargaining position so that it can create a choke point in the global supply chain. “It requires the collaboration of all stakeholders in this infrastructure field to strengthen our bargaining position. We must be able to create a choke point. When we talk about the semiconductor industry, the ones who will control this supply chain are the countries that can create a choke point,” Nezar asserted. Besides infrastructure, adequate talent is also another crucial factor. According to Nezar, superior talent can be the key to circumventing weaknesses in infrastructure. He stressed that Indonesia’s success in leveraging AI development is determined not only by the ability to adopt technology, but also by the readiness to build a comprehensive ecosystem. Nezar assessed that the choices made today will determine Indonesia’s position in the future of AI development. “The future of AI is being written in Asia, and Indonesia has an important role in this narrative. The policy choices we make today will determine who benefits from AI in the future,” he concluded.