Gibran stresses technology and culture must go hand in hand

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has stressed that technological progress must go hand in hand with cultural preservation as a foundation for strengthening the nation’s identity. In a statement from the Vice Presidential Secretariat in Jakarta on Thursday, Gibran said the development of digital technology and artificial intelligence is an inevitability that must be utilised positively to introduce Indonesia’s cultural wealth to the wider public whilst simultaneously fortifying the national character, in line with the implementation of President Prabowo Subianto’s Astacita vision. The statement was delivered by the Vice President when receiving the board of Bela Budaya Nusantara at the Randu Mas Arts and Culture Tourism Park in East Lampung Regency, Lampung, on Wednesday. Gibran said the government is committed to ensuring technological progress does not erode national identity. According to him, digital transformation, including the development of social media and AI, is an unavoidable change that must be responded to adaptively without neglecting cultural values. “Indeed, it cannot be denied, sir, that this is the era of social media, the era of AI, all children hold mobile phones, but technology and culture must go hand in hand, sir. We cannot fight technological progress and disruption, but they must go hand in hand,” Gibran said. He conveyed that technological progress actually opens up greater opportunities to introduce Indonesia’s cultural wealth to the world. According to Gibran, social media and various digital platforms can be utilised as effective means to expand cultural promotion whilst fostering pride among the younger generation in the nation’s cultural heritage. “With technological progress, especially social media, we are actually helped, sir, to introduce our culture more widely,” he said. During the meeting, Mulyono, General Chair of the Central Board of Bela Budaya Nusantara, expressed concern over the growing challenges to cultural preservation amidst rapid technological development. He argued that the younger generation risks becoming increasingly detached from their cultural roots if efforts to uphold traditions and noble national values are not strengthened. “We are also afraid that if we do not defend our culture going forward, this generation will only be skilled in technology but not in preserving customs,” Mulyono said.