Indonesia Declares the AI Middle Way

Indonesia has declared the Middle Way AI approach as a new direction for the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI). The approach emphasizes a balance between technological innovation, data sovereignty, and the interests of society.

The declaration was initiated by the Founder & Chairman of the Digital Divide Institute, Professor Craig Warren Smith PhD, together with a member of the National Information and Communication Technology Council (Wantiknas), Dr.-Ing. H. Ilham Akbar Habibie, at Wisma Habibie Ainun, Jakarta, coinciding with the commemoration of the birthday of Indonesia’s third president, B.J. Habibie.

Middle Way AI was introduced as a concept that rejects two extreme approaches to AI development: the dominance of global market interests without regard for national sovereignty, and regulation so rigid that it stifles innovation. Within the concept, human beings, consciousness, data sovereignty, equitable access, and the improvement of public productivity are placed at the center of AI development.

“Indonesia has a great opportunity to play a strategic role in the development of global AI, supported by its large population, a continuously growing digital economy, and a vast ecosystem of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” Ilham said in his statement on Friday. In his view, AI should serve as an instrument to broaden society’s economic participation, not to widen the digital divide.

The Importance of AI Governance

The Jakarta Declaration also stressed the need for transparent and accountable AI governance, the strengthening of national capacity, and the development of institutional and financing frameworks — so that Indonesia is not merely a user of technology, but is also able to set the direction of AI development in line with national interests.

Professor Craig Warren Smith described Middle Way AI as an approach that places the public interest at the heart of technology development — one expected to drive innovation while safeguarding data sovereignty, expanding access to technology, and creating more equitable economic growth.

The declaration was attended by representatives of government, academia, associations, industry, communities, and international partners — among them the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN), Bappenas, KORIKA, The Habibie Center, MASTEL, Gadjah Mada University, the University of Indonesia, IPB, Esa Unggul University, Jakarta State Polytechnic, Huawei Indonesia, NEC Indonesia, and the international organization IIFTIHAR.

Participants also agreed that the Middle Way AI concept would continue to be refined through a collaborative process involving various stakeholders, including Professor Soraj Hongladarom of Chulalongkorn University, known as an academic in the philosophy of technology, information ethics, and AI ethics. Through the Jakarta Declaration, Indonesia is expected to play a more active role in building AI governance that not only pursues efficiency and economic growth, but also guarantees justice, sovereignty, and the equitable distribution of technology’s benefits to society.

JAKARTA — Professor Craig Warren Smith PhD, Founder & Chairman of the Digital Divide Institute, together with Dr.-Ing. H. Ilham Akbar Habibie, Dipl.Ing., M.B.A., I.P.U. of the National Information and Communication Technology Council (Wantiknas), initiated and declared the Middle Way AI approach at Wisma Habibie Ainun, Jakarta, on Thursday, June 25.

The declaration was held to coincide with the commemoration of the birthday of B.J. Habibie — Indonesia’s third president, the nation’s “Father of Technology,” and a figure whose thinking and legacy continue to inspire the development of science, democracy, and national technological sovereignty.

Middle Way AI was introduced as a “middle path” approach to the use and development of artificial intelligence. It rejects two extremes: AI controlled too tightly by global market interests without protection for national sovereignty, and regulation so rigid that it hampers innovation. Middle Way AI places human beings, consciousness, data sovereignty, equitable access, and public productivity at the center of AI’s direction.

According to a release received by Bergelora.com in Jakarta, the Jakarta Declaration affirms that Indonesia holds a strategic position in the architecture of the global AI transition. With its large population, a continually growing digital economy, the strength of its MSMEs, and a governance structure reaching across 514 regencies/cities, Indonesia is seen as having the opportunity to make AI a tool for equity rather than a source of new inequality.

In the Middle Way AI concept, Indonesia’s largest market lies not only in centers of the formal economy, but also among the lower-middle class, micro-entrepreneurs, informal workers, local communities, and regions that until now have not fully reached the benefits of the digital economy. AI designed correctly can help broaden economic participation, raise productivity, strengthen the tax base, and open new room for growth from the bottom up.

The declaration also underscored the importance of data sovereignty, transparent and accountable AI governance, the strengthening of national capacity, and the development of financing and institutional frameworks — so that Indonesia becomes not merely a user of technology, but also a shaper of AI’s direction and benefits for its own people.

The event was supported and attended by elements of government, academia, associations, industry, communities, and international partners. Based on the attendance list, participants included representatives of Komdigi, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, BSSN, Bappenas, IIFTIHAR, KORIKA, The Habibie Center, MASTEL, Gadjah Mada University, the University of Indonesia, IPB, Esa Unggul University, Jakarta State Polytechnic, Huawei Indonesia, and NEC Indonesia.

It was agreed that the Middle Way AI approach would be refined jointly by those present through a continued collaborative process — one that also involves Professor Soraj Hongladarom of Chulalongkorn University, a scholar recognized in the fields of philosophy of technology, information ethics, and AI ethics.

Through the Jakarta Declaration, Indonesia is hoped to play a larger role in building AI governance that pursues not only efficiency and economic growth but also justice, sovereignty, and orientation toward the broader public. Middle Way AI is an invitation to government, academia, industry, communities, and international partners to chart a more balanced direction for AI: innovative yet responsible, open yet sovereign, productive yet inclusive — advancing without leaving behind those who have long been outside the mainstream of the digital economy.