Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) launched an AI experience center in Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia’s eastern province of Papua, on May 21, 2025.

The launch was attended by Indonesia’s vice minister of communication and digital affairs Nezar Patria and IOH CEO Vikram Sinha.

The center aims to improve access to AI technology in eastern Indonesia, with a focus on education and healthcare.

In the education sector, the facility will provide personalized learning experiences for students in remote areas. In healthcare, it intends to use AI for faster and more accurate diagnoses, especially for diseases like tuberculosis.

The center operates on Indosat’s 5G network and collaborates with Huawei. It features training rooms, digital learning platforms, and collaborative spaces for local communities.

This initiative seeks to reduce the digital divide between western and eastern Indonesia.

🔗 Source: Indosat Ooreedoo Hutchison

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Indonesia’s strategic AI expansion targets regional equality

The Jayapura AI Experience Center represents a significant milestone in Indonesia’s comprehensive National AI Strategy (2020-2045), which targets five priority sectors including health services and education.

This center is part of a systematic geographical expansion, following Indonesia’s first AI Experience Center launched in Solo, Central Java in 2024 1.

The focus on Eastern Indonesia addresses a persistent development gap, as most technology infrastructure has historically concentrated in western regions like Java and Sumatra, leaving areas like Papua underserved.

Indonesia’s government views AI as fundamental to the nation’s future, with President Joko Widodo emphasizing that “controlling AI equates to controlling the future,” highlighting the strategic importance of these investments 2.

This initiative aligns with projections that AI could contribute $366 billion to Indonesia’s GDP by 2030, providing economic justification for expanding these capabilities to all regions 2.

2️⃣ AI centers emerging as a competitive advantage across Southeast Asia

Indosat’s Jayapura facility represents part of a regional pattern of establishing specialized AI centers, with similar recent launches including Oracle’s AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore and UST’s Generative AI Experience Centre in Malaysia 3.