Deputy Minister Stella urges youth to think critically to face AI disruption
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Wamendiktisaintek) Stella Christie is encouraging the younger generation to master critical thinking skills as the primary capital to face the disruptions of artificial intelligence (AI) and global competition.
In relation to current technological developments, the Deputy Minister assesses that the capacity to evaluate, critique, and make decisions is an exclusive ability that cannot be replaced by machines.
“What makes humans irreplaceable is not just the ability to use AI, but the ability to evaluate whether AI outputs are accurate, relevant, and can be used responsibly. Thus, humans will never be replaced by AI,” she said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday.
The Deputy Minister highlighted the existence of 210 million internet users and a penetration rate of 83 percent, meaning Indonesia has great potential to help determine the direction of global AI utilisation through a human-in-the-loop approach.
Stella believes that the foundation of analytical thinking is a key for students not only in responding to technology but also in winning academic competition on the international stage.
The government itself has proven that strengthening educational capacity appropriately can boost global competitiveness, one of which is through the SMA Unggul Garuda programme focused on school transformation, with an increase in Letters of Acceptance (LoA) for Indonesian students at prestigious foreign universities, from 587 LoAs in 2025 to 1,567 LoAs, or an increase of 167 percent.
Seeing this great potential, the Deputy Minister invites young talents to continue to dare to compete healthily for the smooth running of the nation’s development vision.
“You are the ones who will become the leaders of this nation. Our nation can only advance if we all want to compete and race to maximise the potential within ourselves. This is not something strange,” said Stella Christie.