Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital reveals Indonesia's potential to enter AI industry supply chain

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital (Wamenkomdigi) Nezar Patria revealed Indonesia’s potential to enter the growing global artificial intelligence (AI) industry supply chain. “We are the world’s largest tin producer. And tin is a key material in the chip manufacturing process,” Nezar said in Jakarta on Wednesday. He stated that Indonesia also possesses silica sand, sand containing silicon, which is a raw material for semiconductor production. However, he noted that Indonesia currently can only supply raw materials and has not yet been able to process them according to industry needs. He stressed that Indonesia must improve its resource processing capabilities to participate in the AI industry supply chain. In addition to abundant raw material resources, Nezar said Indonesia has plentiful energy sources to support AI development data centres. “We have an excess of energy, renewable energy. Our electricity production is sufficient, even abundant last year, with a surplus of electrical energy,” Nezar said. Nezar also mentioned that Indonesia has a large population, providing human resources to support AI industry development. “We have the largest population in Southeast Asia, 285 million people with an average age of 30 years,” he said. “We are trying to gather the best talents from universities, then provide programmes from basic to advanced on how to provide AI solutions,” Nezar said. With the resources it possesses and the right strategies, Nezar said Indonesia can become an important player in the AI industry supply chain. “In my opinion, we don’t need to fear that it will replace humans, but rather how it can become a companion in the work we do,” he said.