KBRN, Jakarta: Indonesia is preparing two regulations on artificial intelligence (AI), a national AI Roadmap and AI Ethics guidelines, set to be formalized in a Presidential Regulation by early 2026.

The initiative, led by the Ministry of Communication and Digital, aims to provide a unified policy framework as AI adoption accelerates across education, healthcare, finance, and digital public spaces.

Experts broadly agree that regulation is urgent to ensure legal certainty, protect citizens, and guide innovation without stifling it.

Technology expert and founder of Drone Emprit, Ismail Fahmi, stressed that regulation should not be seen as restricting AI but as providing direction amid rapid adoption.

“AI already influences strategic sectors and shapes public opinion. Its impact touches citizens’ rights and social stability,” he said, as quoted by Antara on Wednesday, January 14, 2026.

Without a shared framework, he said, risks such as algorithmic bias, disinformation, data misuse, and unequal access could harm society, while innovators operate without legal clarity.

Fahmi emphasized that regulation must serve as a national coordination umbrella, aligning policies across ministries and ensuring consistency with data protection and Indonesian cultural values. “AI regulation is an instrument of digital sovereignty, not just technical rules,” he noted.

Mohammad Ridwan Effendi of Bandung Institute of Technology highlighted the need to clarify legal accountability. Current law only recognizes responsibility borne by individuals or institutions, leaving gaps when AI systems make decisions with social or economic consequences.

“AI cannot stand alone. There must be a clear party accountable for its impact,” he said, adding that legal boundaries would encourage innovation by providing a secure framework.

The government’s draft roadmap adopts a risk-based approach, allowing low-risk AI to flourish while subjecting high-risk applications to stricter oversight. Fahmi welcomed this but warned against excessive administrative burdens. Ethical reporting and risk assessments, he argued, should not be uniformly imposed, as they could hinder startups and local innovators. He also urged investment in human capacity, AI literacy, and social readiness alongside economic and technological goals.

Onno W. Purbo, another leading IT expert, stressed that Indonesian AI regulation must be adaptive and sovereign. He cautioned against copying foreign models and warned of dependence on single vendors or opaque systems.

Regulations, he argued, should enforce interoperability, open standards, and data portability to prevent “black box” technologies. He also proposed a national AI testing lab to allow startups and universities to experiment safely.

“Data Indonesia must train AI Indonesia,” Onno said, underscoring the importance of processing strategic data domestically.

Experts converge on one point: Indonesian AI regulation should shape an ecosystem architecture that safeguards sovereignty, encourages experimentation, and strengthens local innovation, rather than curbing creativity, as the country moves toward its 2026 target. ***