ISKI’s 43rd Anniversary: Communications Must Become More Adaptive
JAKARTA — The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has changed how people obtain information and challenged the media industry. Against this backdrop, the Indonesian Communication Scholars Association (ISKI) says strengthening ethics, critical thinking and public trust must be a priority for everyone working in communications.
ISKI Chairman Atwar Bajari raised the issue at the association’s 43rd anniversary event at Tarumanagara University in Jakarta. He said the organisation’s role was not only to uphold its long history, but also to strengthen the contribution of communication studies in addressing the challenges of the times.
“On ISKI’s 43rd anniversary, I put forward a thesis: ISKI must turn the size of its community into the scale of its contribution,” Atwar said in a press statement on Friday (16 October 2026).
He said communication graduates should not limit themselves to the ability to produce messages. They also need to develop reasoning, research skills, an understanding of people and ethical awareness. ISKI should therefore expand its contribution by developing members’ capacities, improving their skills and fostering cross-sector collaboration among academics, practitioners and industry.
“Times continue to change. Our responsibility to humanity must grow,” said Atwar, a professor of communication studies at Padjadjaran University in Bandung.
Rama Kertamukti, a professor of communication studies at Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University in Yogyakarta, also called for communication studies to make a stronger contribution in the age of AI. He made the remarks during a discussion marking ISKI’s 43rd anniversary, entitled “When AI Changes Communication: What Must We Strengthen?”, at Tarumanagara University on Monday (12 October 2026).
Rama said the use of AI had significantly changed communication processes. The technology offers opportunities for faster and more efficient communication, but also raises questions about authenticity, bias, privacy, authorship and accountability.
Technological advances mean users and communications professionals must consider not only the capabilities of the tools, but also their context, ethics and human responsibility, he said. AI still requires rigorous human judgement and oversight, particularly when it is used in connection with information that has a broad impact on the public.
From the media industry’s perspective, the technology has changed the way information is distributed, potentially affecting media companies’ business sustainability. Those working in the media must adapt quickly, speakers said.
Wahyu Dhyatmika, chairman of the Indonesian Cyber Media Association, said there had been a shift from a search economy to an answer economy. People are increasingly accustomed to receiving direct answers through AI-based services. As a result, traffic to news websites is falling, reducing media revenue.
As a solution, Wahyu proposed that media organisations use small language models (SLMs), which are developed for specific needs. Such technology has considerable potential to meet demand for information that is specialised and grounded in local context.
“AI services such as ChatGPT and Gemini are forms of large language models (LLMs). Media organisations do not need to build their own LLMs; instead, they can develop SLMs containing specific information and tailored to their audiences’ needs,” Wahyu said.