Luhut's Breakthrough: Distributing Rp 5.4 Million Per Person Using AI

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The government will utilise an artificial intelligence (AI)-based system to distribute social assistance (Bansos) to poor or underprivileged communities. This was disclosed by the Chair of the National Economic Council (DEN), Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, during a meeting at the Presidential Palace complex on Tuesday (9/6/2026). He explained that the technology is being used to screen and classify individuals on the recipient list. He further stated that social assistance would no longer be distributed in the form of goods. Instead, it will be disbursed as cash through a direct cash transfer scheme, amounting to up to Rp 5.4 million per person. ‘I see that in the future, subsidies will no longer be for goods. Subsidies will go directly to the recipients because, on average, we collect all of this social assistance via cash transfer and so on, it is Rp 5.4 million per person. This will later be classified using AI,’ Luhut stated. The use of AI in distributing assistance has already been implemented in a pilot project in Banyuwangi, East Java. This initial programme has reportedly been successful and is currently being socialised to 42 districts/cities. If this programme succeeds fully, Luhut revealed the plan is for a nationwide launch this coming October. ‘We learn from this model; later, if these 42 are successful, this October we will roll out nationally across all 514 districts and cities, and then we will report to the President,’ Luhut said. Luhut is confident that the adopted system will deliver budget savings reaching tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions of rupiah. Furthermore, Luhut announced that the government will launch an integrated single data identity, or Digital Single ID, by the end of this year. This programme will make social assistance distribution more accurately targeted in the future. ‘Possibly by the end of this year, there will be a Digital Single ID, resulting in all social assistance or direct cash transfers being targeted. So it will be precise and that will save a considerable amount,’ Luhut asserted.