Indonesia aims to embed artificial intelligence across key government programmes, including a US$15 billion free meals initiative, according to a draft presidential regulation pending signature from President Prabowo Subianto as of June 22, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. The AI adoption roadmap will cover ministries and regional governments during 2026–2029 [1, 2, 3].
The government projects AI could boost Indonesia's GDP by 12% by 2030, translating to an economic benefit of about US$366 billion [1, 2, 3]. Leading tech firms such as Meta, IBM, and Microsoft helped draft the regulation [1, 2, 3].
Microsoft announced a US$1.7 billion investment starting in 2024 aimed at expanding cloud and AI services within Indonesia [1, 2]. The free meals programme previously faced criticism over transparency, food safety, and budget issues [1, 3]. AI will be deployed to tailor menus to regions, monitor kitchen hygiene, predict food demand, detect irregularities, and integrate health data to improve oversight and efficiency in this scheme [1, 2, 3].
Despite the ambition, Indonesia currently lacks infrastructure like AI chips and faces a shortage of AI-skilled workers [1, 2, 3]. Derwin Suhartono, an AI professor, said, "Indonesia has yet to be competitive in the AI race and may stay as a consumer of products that foreign companies sell to" and described government AI plans as "all rhetoric" so far [1, 2, 3].
The draft regulation also proposes setting up a sovereign AI fund along with financial incentives to develop AI talent and guard against misuse such as deepfakes [3].
The next step is awaiting President Prabowo’s approval of the presidential regulation to formalize the AI integration strategy set for rollout from 2026 through 2029 [1, 2, 3].
