Indonesia moves toward formal AI governance framework for healthcare

Indonesian officials have signalled a push toward dedicated AI governance, with health named among the priority sectors for upcoming regulation.

Speaking at a Jakarta conference on the future of health AI on 8 June, Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said AI deployment in healthcare carries direct implications for patient safety, and that algorithmic errors in clinical settings have life-or-death consequences.

He raised the question of accountability when an AI-generated diagnostic recommendation proves incorrect, and argued that innovation without governance creates risk, while governance without innovation leads to stagnation.

The ministry has been rolling out AI tools across public health infrastructure since 2023, including portable AI-powered X-ray devices for tuberculosis screening, which have tested around 200,000 people by 2025.

Recent trials cited by the ministry point to strong performance gains: AI-assisted lung cancer screening using Harrison.ai reportedly reached 90% accuracy compared with 83% for radiologists alone, while AI analysis of brain CT scans in stroke detection trials with RSUP Dr. M. Djamil and the National Brain Center Hospital achieved 98% accuracy in identifying healthy tissue, against 74% for manual readings.

In a separate mass tuberculosis screening exercise using Qure.ai, the system reviewed 38,000 scans, flagging 4,000 suspected TB cases and identifying 12,000 additional lung abnormalities.

Despite these results, the ministry says regulation needs to keep pace with deployment. Dante indicated plans to develop rules covering AI-based medical devices, patient consent processes, and expanded oversight by the Health Research Ethics Committee. Director General of Advanced Health Affairs Azhar Jaya pointed to the SATUSEHAT and SATUSEHAT AI platforms as the infrastructure intended to monitor data use and prevent misuse.

The health-sector announcements follow broader remarks from Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid, who told the BRAVO 500 Summit in Jakarta on 11 June that Indonesia, with 230 million internet users, needs its own AI regulatory framework to ensure legal accountability for AI deployments.

She referenced a 2025 case in which the government blocked an app called World Apps after it collected users’ biometric, including retinal, data in exchange for incentive payments.

Meutya said the forthcoming framework will prioritise ten sectors aligned with President Prabowo Subianto’s Astacita development agenda, including health, food security, education, and energy.

Rather than sector-specific rules, the ministry plans a broad Presidential Regulation covering AI development ethics and a national AI roadmap, with individual sectors expected to develop their own derivative regulations.