DKI Provincial Government Asked To Be Careful In Allocation Of AI Technology Budget To Unravel Congestion

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) Justin Adrian asked the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government to be careful in allocating budgets for the procurement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to relieve congestion.

He emphasized that payments for the procurement of AI technology should not be excessive, as found by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) regarding goods and services expenditures in 2021.

"All procurements in DKI Jakarta should not be too expensive. Apart from being too expensive, don't overpay until BPK finds something", said the member of Commission D of the DKI Jakarta DPRD when contacted in Jakarta, Wednesday.

According to Justin, excessive budget payments can harm residents because they have the potential to waste people's money.

In addition, overpayment has the potential to cause allegations of misappropriation of regional budgets.

In addition to budget problems, Justin also criticized the effectiveness of using AI technology in reducing congestion.

According to him, congestion in DKI Jakarta has not diminished at all since AI technology was implemented in April 2023.

According toJustin, the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta should have tested the application of AI technology first.

After the trial is carried out, then the provincial government evaluates whether or not the technology is feasible to be implemented in DKI Jakarta.

"So this system is not only held, but the 'output' is not clear so it becomes a wasteful expenditure", he said.

Head of the DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency, Syafrin Liputo, also said that the use of AI technology, which has been running for three months since April 2023, has been observed to be effective in reducing vehicle queues at around 20 intersections.

This year, his party added 40 more intersections that will be installed by AI as an effort to reduce congestion in DKI Jakarta.

The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has prepared a budget for the addition of 40 AI technologies of around Rp130 billion.

"Our target this year can reduce up to 48 percent for traffic congestion in Jakarta. With the results of 20 intersections, it is observed that the decrease in the density rate is almost 20 percent, we are optimistic that it can be achieved", said Syafrin.