More Countries Adopt Indonesia's Regulations, The World Rejects Total Replacement

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - South Africa has become the latest country to announce a draft regulation related to the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The country is seeking public input to propose a comprehensive framework that regulates and accelerates AI adoption.

Regulations on AI adoption have been discussed in many countries, including Indonesia. AI policies are important to create, given that this innovative technology has potentially dangerous risks to society, as well as facilitating everyday life.

The policy issued by South Africa’s Department of Communications and Digital Technologies aims to position the country as a leader in AI innovation on the African continent, while addressing ethical, social, and economic challenges.

This regulation also represents a significant step for South Africa’s digital transformation. Public input on the policy draft will be collected by 10 June 2026, cited from Reuters, Monday (13/4/2026).

The draft outlines plans to establish new institutions, including the National AI Commission, AI Ethics Council, and AI Regulatory Authority. These institutions will coordinate policies, enforce ethical standards, monitor compliance, and provide mechanisms for compensation in cases of AI-related harm.

The government also intends to create incentives such as tax reductions, grants, and subsidies to encourage private sector collaboration, particularly for local startups and small businesses.

One of the main pillars of this policy is investment in robust and cost-effective supercomputer infrastructure to support AI research and development. The policy also calls for strategic investments in digital infrastructure, including partnerships with international cloud providers and regional supercomputing centres.

However, the report notes concerns about reliance on foreign infrastructure that could endanger South Africa’s sensitive data security.

The report calls for plans to reduce “South Africa’s current hardware dependency on the US and China” amid their ongoing geopolitical rivalry.

Widespread Rejection of Total Replacement

Regulations related to AI use are also becoming a global trend. The European Union (EU) already has the ‘EU AI Act’ which will come into full effect by the end of 2026. The regulation is touted as the world’s first comprehensive framework to detect AI risks, hold AI providers accountable for risk mitigation, and impose proportionate ethical restrictions.

Not only the EU, several other countries such as the UK and South Korea are also actively preparing AI-related regulations.

Just recently, China has also sought to protect society when using AI. It does so by creating new draft regulations to strengthen safety and ethics in launching the technology.

The regulation is designed for consumer-oriented AI products and services, namely services with human-like personality traits and involving user emotional interactions, cited from Reuters.

The targets of the regulation are products and services with thinking patterns, communication styles, and emotional interactions using tools such as text, images, audio, and video.

The regulation will use an approach of AI companies’ obligations in providing their products to the public. One of them is providing warnings for excessive use.

Service providers are also required to build various systems related to this. Starting from algorithm reviews, data security, and personal information protection.

Addiction issues are also a priority in the regulation. Providers must be able to identify conditions, assess emotions, and the level of user dependency on the service.

This includes providing intervention steps when users show signs of addiction to the service.

The steps taken set limits on content and behaviour. This makes services unable to produce content that endangers national security, spreads rumours, or promotes violence or pornography.

Indonesia’s AI Roadmap

As explained earlier, Indonesia has long been preparing its AI Roadmap and AI ethics. The draft is said to be signed by President Prabowo Subianto in 2026.

“We may convey it here because this is also eagerly awaited by industry players that the government has finished, 90% complete for the AI roadmap and AI ethics,” explained Minister of Communication and Digital (Komdigi), Meutya Hafid, at the Declaration of Indonesia’s Digital Direction: Connected, Growing, Protected event in Jakarta, at the end of 2025.

The draft is awaiting its turn. Meutya explained that State Secretary Minister Prasteyo Hadi has ensured that the AI Roadmap is a priority for signing by Prabowo as soon as possible.

Meutya said that her side will not regulate AI development in each sector. So ministries and agencies can create their own AI regulations once the Presidential Regulation is launched.

“So we are only creating the big umbrella, and the rest, including domestic trade, please create guidelines or regulations regarding AI respectively. With our understanding that those who know best the needs of regulations related to Artificial Intelligence in each sector are the leaders of the relevant sector institutions,” said Meutya.

There is no information yet on the detailed content of the regulation and AI roadmap.

Deputy Minister of Komdigi Nezar Patria previously said the essence of the AI Roadmap is a balance between innovation and protection. In the AI Roadmap, Nezar said it will target several things, including national strategic programmes. Such as which sectors will contribute to the technology.

“AI can contribute in various places, such as the health sector, education sector, financial sector, financial services, transportation, and several other sectors,” stated Nezar.