Google: AI Supports Digital Economy Growth In 2024

JAKARTA Currently, technological developments cannot be separated from the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Therefore, digital economic growth also depends on the application and utilization of AI according to Google.

In the e-Conomy SEA 2024 report presented by Google on Wednesday, November 13, it was recorded that AI could drive growth in five digital sectors this year. If utilized properly, this technology can increase innovation and digital efficiency.

Google Indonesia Country Director, Veronica Utami, said that AI has become the top of mind for the Indonesian people. Interest in AI is not only seen in big cities like Jakarta, but also in other areas such as East Kalimantan and the Riau Islands.

"The most popular AI is for content creation, photo effects, and video editing. So this may be associated with the marketing sector as well. A number of startups in Indonesia have also started using the AI Gen to solve various kinds of problems or complex challenges," Veronica said on Wednesday, November 13.

Meanwhile, Bain & Company Partner Aadarsh Baijal explained that several digital sectors showed positive growth trends thanks to AI. The sectors are online travel, digital financial services, online transportation, food delivery, and online media.

Judging from Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), the online travel sector has grown by 24 percent this year. GMV from the digital sector is estimated to reach US$9 billion (Rp141 trillion), while the digital financial services sector is estimated to record a Gross Transaction Value (GTV) of US$404 billion (Rp6.3 quadrillion).

Online transportation is also experiencing growth thanks to the recovery of daily and international travel demand, while food delivery has increased due to business actors expanding into small or rural towns.

Although the market share is still relatively small, online media is also showing consistent growth. GMV sector is expected to grow by 12 percent due to the popularity of digital content, gaming, and streaming service platforms.

In order for the use of AI to be profitable, investment in technology infrastructure is very necessary. Without the right infrastructure, the government or business actors will find it difficult to handle large-scale computing. In this case, data centers are needed.

"To be able to process, processing such large data, of course, a data center is needed which can also keep up with the scale. The provision of AI ready data center is becoming increasingly crude, more and more important in order to facilitate the need for data increases," explained Veronica.

Fortunately, Indonesia is one of the countries that is ready for data center needs. In fact, Indonesia is the second largest country in Southeast Asia with a capacity of 202 MW. The capacity of this data center is expected to increase by 268 percent in the next few years.