Bandung Regent Welcomes Vice President's Visit, Strengthens AI Utilisation in Schools and Pesantren
Bandung Regency — Bandung Regent Dadang Supriatna (Kang DS), together with West Java Deputy Governor Erwan Setiawan, accompanied Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka on a working visit to SMP Al-Muthahari in Rancaekek District and to Daarul Arqom Pesantren in Pacet District on Wednesday, 4 March 2026. The visit forms part of strengthening artificial intelligence (AI) literacy for students and santri in Bandung Regency.
At SMP Al-Muthahari, the Vice President spoke directly with students and teachers about the use of AI in the learning process. Gibran emphasised the importance of AI as an educational aid, while cautioning against dependency.
“AI is important to support teaching and learning activities, but there must be rules and ethics to observe. Do not let children become dependent on AI to the extent of eroding critical thinking,” he said.
He also reminded the public to be wary of potential AI misuse, including voice cloning-based fraud schemes that can imitate a person’s voice to request money. He stressed the crucial role of teachers and parents in guiding children to use AI wisely and responsibly.
The visit then continued to Daarul Arqom Pesantren in Pacet District. In the presence of the santri, the Vice President again stressed that mastery of technology, including AI, is an essential requirement so that the younger generation does not fall behind in facing the challenges of the era.
Meanwhile, Kang DS emphasised that Bandung Regency, with a population of around 3.8 million and about 1.6 million students, has great potential in human resource development. Therefore, digital literacy and AI mastery are key parts of preparing an outstanding generation.
“Today we directly see that education about AI is very important to learn. Its use must be conducted in a good, polite, and wise manner so as not to fall into its negative impacts. We believe the President and Vice President’s programme will raise the quality of superior human resources in readiness for Indonesia Emas 2045,” he said.
Kang DS affirmed that the Bandung Regency Government is committed to continually strengthening digital literacy across all educational units, including pesantren. The synergy between the central government, the provincial government, and the regency government is expected to produce a Bandung Regency generation that is adaptive, critical, and competitive in the era of digital transformation.