IBM Chief Reveals Three Major AI Challenges Facing Indonesia
Jakarta - A number of key challenges must be overcome to ensure that artificial intelligence technology development in Indonesia can proceed optimally.
Catherine Lian, General Manager and Technology Leader for ASEAN at IBM, has stated that Indonesia’s primary challenge is the availability of talent and skills in the technology sector.
She emphasised that collaboration between the private sector and government is essential to ensure adequate human resources.
“The first challenge I continue to observe in Indonesia is that talent and skills are something all of us must pay attention to,” Lian said during a media briefing at IBM Indonesia’s Jakarta office on Thursday, 12 March 2026.
She added that without adequate human resources, technology investment will not yield maximum results.
“If there is no talent and skills, no matter how much technology is brought into this country, it will not be able to achieve the objectives we expect,” she said.
Beyond talent, Lian also highlighted the importance of consistent government policy in promoting artificial intelligence adoption across the country.
“Second, I firmly believe that the government must have very consistent policy to drive AI initiatives in this country,” she explained.
She stressed that such policy must support companies in adopting AI whilst delivering benefits to society and the broader economy.
“Policy that supports companies in adopting AI, as well as consistent policy to provide benefits to them as AI users and for the results generated for the socio-economic landscape,” she elaborated.
The next challenge is the development of digital infrastructure. According to her, the government must continue to ensure infrastructure development that supports the technology ecosystem.
“Latency, network connectivity, and ease of access to telecommunications will be the foundational basis for us to subsequently drive AI investment into this country,” she said.
Nevertheless, Lian sees very strong prospects for Indonesia in the ASEAN region. From IBM’s perspective, Indonesia is even predicted to become the region’s fastest-growing country for AI.
“For us, Indonesia will be the country with the fastest growth,” she said.
She assessed that the country’s large population is one of the key factors driving this potential. Additionally, Indonesia also has the highest number of unicorn companies in ASEAN, which is seen as a driver of innovation and adoption of new technology.
“When a country has unicorn companies, there will be significant innovation and AI adoption in the developing digital economy,” she concluded.