Jakarta, July 23, 2026 – Deputy Minister of Creative Economy/Deputy Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Ekraf), Irene Umar, attended the launch of the AI Economic Impact Report: Building the Future: Shaping Indonesia’s AI Era at the Google & YouTube Forum for AI and Creative Economy. The cross-sector forum brought together the government, industry, academia, and communities to optimize the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) while strengthening global competitiveness.
Deputy Minister of Creative Economy, Irene Umar, delivers remarks at the launch of the AI Economic Impact Report: Building the Future: Shaping Indonesia’s AI Era at the Google & YouTube Forum for AI and Creative Economy at Thamrin Nine Ballroom, Jakarta, Thursday (23/7/2026).
“Artificial Intelligence is not a replacement for human creativity. AI is a technology that enhances human creativity. What we need to prepare are talents who are capable of utilizing technology, understanding data, and producing works that are globally competitive. Indonesia must not merely become a technology user, but also a creator and a player in the global market,” said the Deputy Minister of Creative Economy at the event held at Thamrin Nine Ballroom, Jakarta, Thursday (23/7).
The AI Economic Impact Report, prepared by Google in collaboration with Public First, noted that the utilization of AI technology has the potential to contribute up to Rp66 trillion in economic value annually to Indonesia’s creative economy sector. In addition, AI adoption is projected to create 1.8 million new professional creators by 2035 and unlock export potential for creative content of up to Rp6.7 trillion per year through AI-based content creation and localization technologies.
Doc. Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency
According to Irene, the development of the AI ecosystem needs to be accompanied by improvements in the quality of creative economy talent. To this end, the Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency, together with Google, will launch the Creative Technology Future Talents scholarship program, which will provide online training in Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Project Management, and Cybersecurity to strengthen the capacity of Indonesian creators, innovators, and technopreneurs in navigating digital transformation.
Through this initiative, creative economy players are encouraged to utilize data governance for business strategy formulation, production efficiency, and expanding export market reach. The Deputy Minister of Creative Economy emphasized that AI development must go hand in hand with protection for creators through respect for intellectual property rights, so that innovation and creativity can continue to grow sustainably.
Doc. Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency
Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy Google, Markham Erickson, expressed his appreciation for Indonesia’s significant potential, supported by its young demographic and high level of digital adoption. He also highlighted the country’s continuously developing creative ecosystem, which holds significant potential for the development of an AI-based digital economy.
“We are committed to being a partner to the Indonesian government in building an open, inclusive, and responsible AI ecosystem. When open technology meets Indonesian creativity, we believe that even more opportunities can be created together for society, businesses, and the creative economy sector,” said Markham.
Doc. Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency
Irene emphasized that AI transformation requires investment in the foundations of talent development, data utilization, and data-driven decision-making. According to her, the economic impact of AI adoption cannot be achieved instantly and therefore needs to be measured continuously so that the resulting business opportunities, employment, and added value can be properly mapped.
The Google & YouTube Forum for AI and Creative Economy served as a momentum to strengthen collaboration among the government, Google, academia, industry, and communities in building an AI ecosystem that supports talent development, innovation, and the global competitiveness of Indonesia’s creative economy.
Registration for the CREATech Future Talents training program is now officially open to the public and can be accessed directly through the following link: ekr.af/CREATech. The results of the participant selection will be announced in August 2026 via the registered email addresses and the official social media account of the Ministry of Creative Economy (@ekraf.ri).
Kiagoos Irvan Faisal
Head of Bureau for Communication
Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency
