Reading the Indonesian Intellectual Perspective in Responding to Artificial Intelligence Advances

When artificial intelligence, digital identity systems, biometrics, big data, and algorithm-based public services increasingly determine who receives social assistance, healthcare, and social protection, a fundamental question arises: Who is designing the future of these technologies, and from whose perspective? This question is addressed by the launch of the book ‘Digital Social Work Across Africa and Asia: A Decolonial Framework for the Future of the Global South’, authored by Siddhartha Paul Tiwari, Prof Adi Fahrudin, and Dr Fentiny Nugroho, and published by UI Publishing (Universitas Indonesia Press). More than just an academic book, this publication marks an Indonesian intellectual contribution to the global conversation on the relationship between digital technology, social justice, and the future of societal welfare in Global South countries. The book is the first work to specifically construct a theory of Digital Social Work by positioning Africa and Asia as a single intellectual landscape, rather than as mere objects for the application of theories long dominated by European and North American perspectives. It emerged from cross-national policy analysis, decolonial studies, and field research involving 234 frontline social workers across various countries in Africa and Asia. For decades, literature on digital transformation in social work has largely been compiled based on the experiences of developed nations with mature digital infrastructure, personal device ownership, and relatively established welfare systems. However, the reality in Asia and Africa is markedly different. In these regions, technology develops amidst challenges of poverty, infrastructure inequality, shared family device ownership, linguistic diversity, and colonial histories that continue to influence social service systems.