With AI reaching Indonesia's civil servants, the bureaucracy needs to catch up

Artificial intelligence (AI) is steadily making its way into the day-to-day work of Indonesian civil servants (known as Aparatur Sipil Negara/ASN). 

But this adoption has been largely driven by individual officers experimenting on their own, rather than embedded into how institutions operate. 

The gap between individual and institutional AI adoption has emerged as the next major challenge for Indonesia's bureaucracy.  

Indonesian Institute of Public Administration (LAN)'s Head, Muhammad Taufiq, says that the bureaucratic readiness for the use of AI should not be measured solely by civil servants' individual proficiency with AI tools alone. 

"What matters more is the ability of civil servants to work alongside AI to create added value, while organisations build governance that enables the technology to be used responsibly and sustainably," he says to GovInsider. 

Taufiq shares how Indonesia can bridge the gap in AI adoption across the bureaucracy through more proactive leadership, adaptive regulations, stronger human capital and digital infrastructure. 

Leadership is the key  

Citing the Indonesia Leadership Outlook: AI Utilisation Among Public Sector Leaders report, Taufiq highlights an interesting trend. 

Rather than being the group most cautious about AI, senior leaders in the bureaucracy are, in fact, the most prepared to embrace the technology.  

"At the top level, they are actually more familiar with AI and see it as a work partner compared with those at lower levels," he says.  

The findings suggest that the primary challenge is not whether senior leaders accept AI, but whether that readiness is translated into organisational change.  

"That is why, when we talk about AI adoption, the key lies in the role of leaders," he adds.  

For Taufiq, leaders within the bureaucracy are the drivers of change. They are not only AI users themselves, but also determine how the technology is integrated into institutional processes through the integration of applications and enablement of cross-agency governance. 

He acknowledges that this is challenging because it requires regulatory support and standards that the government is still developing. 

"The digital transformation of the bureaucracy has focused more on digitising public services and work processes, whereas AI requires a different governance approach," he adds.  

The next stage is to build effective collaboration between the civil servants and AI that fundamentally changes how bureaucracy operates.  

LAN has already developed standards to support this approach, although implementation will depend on broader institutional readiness.  

Strengthening AI literacy among civil servants  

The adoption of AI also demands new competencies from civil servants.  

According to Taufiq, AI literacy is no longer simply about knowing how to use AI-powered applications, but also understanding when AI should be used, how to assess its outputs, and how to work alongside AI to improve the quality of one's work.  

"It is no longer enough to be digitally literate. Civil servants also need AI literacy to create added value in their work," he says.  

However, these new capabilities must be accompanied by an understanding of AI's limitations.  

He views AI as a co-pilot that supports civil servants in making decisions, rather than replacing their responsibility as public servants.  

This principle becomes even more important when AI is used in public services that directly affect citizens, such as the distribution of social assistance. 

"In situations like these, decisions still require professional and social judgment that cannot be replaced by technology," he notes. 

To prepare civil servants for these changes, LAN has incorporated digital transformation and AI into its curriculum to build a deeper understanding of AI's role in the modern bureaucracy.  

This effort has been reinforced through the development of digital and AI literacy competency standards for civil servants, jointly led by LAN, the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB), and the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs.  

AI literacy has also been integrated into civil service training programmes at different levels.  

Where training previously focused on digital readiness and introducing AI, LAN is now encouraging a broader understanding of AI ethics and responsible digital behaviour.  

LAN is also promoting the use of AI within the learning process itself, allowing the technology to assist with technical tasks while leadership development and character building remain the central objectives of civil service training.  

Closing the digital learning gap  

While the government works to strengthen AI literacy, the challenge of unequal digital infrastructure remains. 

According to Taufiq, some parts of Indonesia still experience connectivity black spots, limiting civil servants' access to digital learning.  

"Not only in eastern Indonesia, but also in western parts of the country, there are still connectivity black spots. Infrastructure is important because it affects the learning process," says Taufiq.  

LAN has therefore adapted its learning approach to suit local conditions. In addition to blended learning, training is also delivered through face-to-face sessions and mentoring.  

In some regions, participants are brought together in sub-districts with internet access, while in others, learning is delivered through mobile phone connections.

"We provide flexibility through approaches such as blended learning and monitoring to help overcome these limitations," he adds. 

This approach demonstrates that bureaucratic transformation depends not only on technological readiness, but also on ensuring that all civil servants have equal opportunities to develop their digital capabilities.  

For Taufiq, AI is no longer simply a new technology that needs to be introduced to civil servants.  

The next challenge is ensuring that the bureaucracy has the leadership, governance, talent and infrastructure needed to adopt AI responsibly as an integral part of how government works.